Net Savers
by SodaBlueSplashdown
Summary: A new digital game is sweeping the nation but deep in its code, an evil was beginning to stir. The destined chosen by the digimon that differ from the pre-written code are the only ones to know of such an evil. Will they stand tall or fall to the power of the dark digimon that wants to take over both the digital and physical world with its tamer? Updates every other Thursday.
1. Chapter 1

Zypher: Alrighty, on the docket is the remake to Digital Life. As I read over my old stuff to attempt to fix it of the grammatical messes I left behind, I have come to realize the plot was starting to get all over the place and instead wanted to focus on a piece I should've made a priority when I first started. Not to mention it wouldn't be called digimon if they didn't start digital first. Yeah you can say my inspiration when I began came from the old Digimon series and their ability later on to come out into the real world but to have them in reality first was dumb so we're gonna start this prior and with writing to better narrate. So hope you all enjoy this one as I am likely to end of Digital Life with a summary of what was to be its future should I had decide to keep up with it.

So please welcome the remake of Digital Life, Net Savers.

Disclaimer: As with all fanfiction, i claim no ownership to Yu-Gi-Oh or the Digimon franchise.

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Net Savers

Chapter 1

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It was the newest craze sweeping through Domino.

Thanks to a massive project planned by Kaiba Corp., a worldwide server was built to handle the great power of this game. A new world awaited players where they can train their own monsters in a widespread digital world. A life-sized tamagotchi game one would call it. All you needed was a digivice and a hookup to the internet and your journey began. Kids adored the game and some teens did so as well. One of them being one Motou Yugi. A soft-spoken child, he was one to love games and it wasn't just for living in a game shop manned by his grandfather. Board games, handhelds, video games, you name it and he had most likely given it a try. His favorite of course was Duel Monsters but with the introduction of this new digital game, he wanted to see what the hubbub was about.

Scrounging the cash after doing a few menial chores around the shop gave him enough to get the licensed item, the digivice, and was sitting before his computer with it in hand. His friends were already invested into the game and were waiting on him so he was happy to be able to finally get into the game as he promised them. "Alright, let's see what this game has for me. Plug in your digivice to your computer then boot up the program that will give you access to the Digital World...ok..." Yugi grabbed the cord and went to plug it into the USB port before switching the device on. As the device booted on, Yugi went to click onto the server link to connect to the Digital World. As the logo appeared on the screen, Yugi smiled as he sat back for the world to load. When the screen faded, a digimon appeared on screen and Yugi sat forward as the small in-training creature hopped enthusiastically.

_"Hello and welcome to the Digital Net Server, young tamer. Today we will get you registered with your digimon partner and begin your journey. First select your in-training digimon!"_

Three more began to hop onto the screen and Yugi hummed as he looked through the four presented. They were the basic ones from what he was told from Ryou but more would be available the longer he played and explored. Mouse hovering over Tsunomon, he gave a mild tilt of his head. Koromon and Tokomon were applicable as well while having a mild interest in Tanemon. But there was something about Tsunomon that charmed him. Making the click, Tsunomon chirped happily and smiled towards Yugi. "Thank you for selecting me! I will do my best to become the best digimon partner you ever have!" Yugi giggled softly and nodded before the server was completely loaded as Tsunomon began to bounce along. "This will be fun! Oh! Before we begin our journey together, please set your name to be registered into the server system." A text box came up and Yugi entered his name, enjoying the server already as he was led to follow Tsunomon around.

It was an easy free roam in an open field, trees and bushes nicely rendered and even the lake looked as real as it would in life. Yugi didn't need to go out further than the field for now at least until Tsunomon digivolved but until then he was content with what he was doing now and managing the little digimon until then. Yugi didn't know how long he was in the server but he was alarmed just a bit when his phone rang beside him with a text, from Jounouchi, about having his name set on the server with the rest of them. /Ah yes! I got everything together and just working with Tsunomon now! I'm really loving this and hope to catch up with you all soon!/ He had replied which was met by an enthusiastic response from Jounouchi and the promise to get everyone's IDs sent to him so they could be added and their digimon could mingle together. Yugi agreed before he played a little longer until it was time for dinner.

"Coming!"

"Do you have to go already?" Was the whispered question as Yugi went to hit the option to quit. The question itself almost sounded too real and unscripted but Yugi gave a soft nod. "I'll be back soon." he replied as he disconnected from the server once he made sure all progress was saved but left the digivice connected, pushing out from his desk to head downstairs. All seemed quiet for some time before a beep sounded from the device, the screen shining a bit with life...

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"Readings: _Normal_. Server: _Stable._ Players: _Accounted_."

The ruby red locks bounced as the head nodded to the readings before walking away from the large machinery that ran the entirety of the Digital Server. "So far nothing's wrong and the game is a hit. Mechanics are flowing nicely and the variety of digimon are on the rise once new stats are applied to their battle score." The male murmured, doors sliding open as an icy, blue eyed brunet stepped in. "All is well, Ruby?" Ruby nodded before reaching to the side of his belt, a red digivice of a different model resting there before bringing it up. Hitting a few buttons on it, a soft ping was heard along with the cheerful sound of a full digimon as it was fed its meal. "These new models are functioning well and will surely be prepared for launch soon. Veemon is particularly happy with everything progressing so well." The brunet gave a nod as he crossed his arms.

This was his greatest project yet, a project that took years of development and coding. A literal world created and condensed into the circuit boards and wires that had connected thousands to a whole net server. A pet simulation with a unique battle system sounds far-fetched to the person that ran the company but he wasn't without vision. He wanted to capitalize on the new, make it grow and there was still so much to do. With each crumb of data that filtered through the system, it was recorded and both teens read into this and adjusted as needed, Ruby moreso the other who was the sole owner of the majority company shares, Seto Kaiba. Kaiba only expected the best from this little pet project and made it something that no one can copy easily.

And so far, he has been doing quite a fine job in doing so alongside making sure that no code was tampered or corrupted. Ruby closed the book he held before turning to Kaiba. "I think we're all done here. I will be hooking up and getting Veemon to practice. Care to join me, I heard Yami is dropping by in our area." A gleam in Kaiba's eyes shone and he nodded, sweeping coat catching the air behind him as he stalked back towards the metal doors. "Let's. He owes me a rematch and Ryuudamon is prepared for it this time." A light sigh and a roll of the eyes was the other's response as he followed but as the doors shut behind him, another was contemplating.

"This world is real...and you can own it without lifting a finger..."

"Is that so? So you aren't just a bunch of 0s and 1s after all."

The voice that spoke was of a salmon-pink haired male, who stared upon the large screen before him. There within his vision was of a darkened forest with withered, twisted trees reaching up like claws in the dark sky. Plumes of fog rolled around as varying virus type digimon roamed the background. But the one that stood at the forefront was one that looked comical at first but it was clear it was much dastardlier than its appearance promoted. The male on the other side of the screen hummed. The offer was tempting and it would surely put a dent in the reputation of the company that made the game and promised nothing but safety of the players and their systems. But this was clearly a growing AI that is beginning to learn more about the realm it lived in. That it knew it could be a sentient source and that two worlds existed. And if it wasn't a bug to be seen by the system itself, then the digimon could do as it pleased.

A smirk pulled across perfectly shaped lips.

"Do your worse."

The koala-looking digimon grinned softly and nodded. "Raise me well then, Siegfried, and I, Phascomon, will bring this world under my control. You have the device; you can bring about the mega power that hides within me." he whispered. Siegfried looked to the digivice connected to the massive processor and nodded. "So be it, Phascomon..."

"Excellent."

A vile turn of events were brewed that day, that would soon turn the world on its head. A digital world soon to be at risk at the hands of a manifestation created by its own code. But fate does have an interesting way of achieving retribution for such actions but first, it takes a spark to light the way...

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"Yami...your digivice is beeping." Someone murmured from the door leading into the study where a teen sat. Scarlet eyes glanced up before looking to the other that stood at the door, black and red digivice in hand and continued to watch as it was brought over to him. Reaching out, he took the device and looked towards the pixelated creature on screen that was making rather intense motions on the small window and the other hummed. "Don't think Seto would be the type to bug something just to gain advantage over our previous rounds...so wonder what's up with him..." Yami murmured. "Perhaps we should give them a check. Strabimon has been getting rather up in arms too...like something is about to happen." The other added. Giving a short nod, Yami went to stand and walked out with the other to head off to their shared room. The two in question here were Atemu Moriaran and Nenrion Shiras but commonly known as Yami and Aqua respectively.

Both high ranking players within the Duel Monsters and Monster World communities but at the request [rather demand] of Seto Kaiba, they were now into the digital server not only as beta testers but also a challenge to the other. To see if they could raise a competitive level digimon to fight him. Yami, of course, was good for a challenge but also to appease the other's prideful notion. Sure, he didn't have to cater to Kaiba's wily demands but those in itself were a challenge he was willing to take. He hated the lack of challenges these days so this new game was definitely interesting. "Alas..." Yami hummed as he went to sit down at the desk, picking up the wire to connect the digivice to the computer tower and set up to log into the server. The loading screen popped up as usual with the logo of the server appearing before fading to show where he last left off, in the snowy regions of Freezeland, Monodramon passive in the snow before turning.

"Yami...is that you...?"

He nodded, typing into the box about what was going on. Monodramon made to turn, gazing up at him quietly. "We're in terrible danger. This is no longer a game...not anymore...we are beginning to learn sentience; we are no longer code...we need your help in more ways than one." The digimon spoke and a brow arched in mild confusion. Quick clacks on the keyboard were heard before Monodramon glanced down. "There's an enemy now...an enemy that can destroy this world...perhaps even your own...we sentient digimon are working...to find a way to bring you here. We need your help physically to save this world." It sounded far-fetched and completely asinine but no code or fabricated digital monster could look as solemn as Monodramon did right now. This was surely nothing programmed into the game by Kaiba's hands as he only made the system of raise and battle simplistic. There would be no such thing as a final boss here unless he himself announced it via the network. Now he wondered if Kaiba's own digimon would know what was going on soon. After all, it's his program and system. If the code was in danger, surely he'll be on it soon. But until then...

/What do I have to do?/

Monodramon couldn't look any happier.

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As night fell over the city of Domino, Yugi had already chatted with his friends about an online meet up as well as having dinner before he retired for the night. Looking towards the digivice that sat on the desk table, he smiled. "We'll work together and get stronger, Tsunomon. You'll see." Yugi whispered before rolling over to fall into a restful slumber for the day ahead tomorrow. Late in the evening was when his digivice began to activate on its own.

"Y-Yugi...I need...your help..."


	2. Chapter 2

Net Savers

Chapter 2

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When Yugi woke up the next morning, he gave a yawn as he went to go to his desk and take a look at Tsunomon but instead of the small in-training sprite being there, there was another. The sprite didn't give much in terms of details so he decided to make his way over to his desktop to see what Tsunomon had digivolved to. Plugging the device into the computer tower, Yugi awaited for the game's start screen to boot up before moving to sign in with his information.

Back to the plains where he last left off, his digimon materialized into the plains and to his amazement, there stood what was one Tsunomon. The pale-yellow skin was covered with the pelt of another, reptilian in appearance despite the pelt he wore. An elaborate crest of pink and blue covered his stomach while red eyes looked to his tamer outside the screen. The last defining feature to him was the large horn upon his head. "Wow, you digivolved, didn't you?" Yugi typed into the box after the awe of seeing the new digimon on screen still completely under his command passed.

"Yes, I have! I've become Gabumon now and will be your companion. I can grow to become stronger with your help and I put my life into your hands." Gabumon replied with a warm smile under the pelt. Yugi returned the smile and nodded. For something digital, the responses were so interactive, as if the digital monster itself was real and alive. After chatting and checking Gabumon's stats, Yugi sent the digimon to forage for food to keep himself content as Yugi observed. His friends said they'll be available later and Yugi couldn't wait for them to see Gabumon.

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"Diamond! Wake up. Diamond!" The girl in bed groaned softly as he went to cover her head with the blanket. The white-haired teen pouted at the sight before looking down to the digivice in hand. The energetic vixen digimon sprite was rather active and was likely clear she wanted her tamer for something. But the other was rather stubborn in terms of waking when school wasn't involved. "Well if you don't want to wake up, I suppose you wouldn't care about what Viximon wants~" Ryou teased and that got her moving. "Gimme." Reaching out, she took the device from the laughing teen and sat up to check. "I'll get breakfast going before I check on what the others are up to. They said they wanted to meet up again on the server later." Diamond gave a nod, looking to the hopping sprite and hummed. This was nothing new considering Viximon was still at the in-training level but Diamond always held an inkling of thought. That there was more to this digital world.

More than the company that created it could comprehend. Their interactions never felt staged and to the surely in-depth code written into their data, this wasn't anything scripted. She felt there was more to this world under the visage of a game. Diamond never expressed her busy thoughts on it but she felt there could be a bigger entity in play than anyone could think of.

"Perhaps...you know something Viximon...something that no one else knows."

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Ruby sat within his private quarters, holding a call with another as he progressed through the desert terrain he led his digimon to. "Veemon is showing exceptional progress in gathering and fighting. I haven't reached the grand boss area to see if the trigger works as intended for players but I expect nothing less as this is Seto's work." Ruby murmured. "I expect the same as well. I do however want to share something with you." The voice spoke as this made Ruby sit up in his seat as Veemon paused in his trek. "What is it?"

"Would you believe your code to become...sentient?"

_Sentient..._

Ruby hummed silently as he sat back in the chair once more. The idea was impossible, daft even. If the game code could become sentient then the two would've noticed by now. Yes, the game was huge and hosted by a single point stationed here in Domino. The very same server is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. There had been nothing strange on the radar since so to hear this was a surprise. And to hear this from Yami of all people...

"It would be physically impossible for digital code to evolve enough to become sentient. A plethora of ones and zeroes can't do much without a hand to manipulate it. Seto wouldn't do such a thing to his own pet project." Ruby stated, watching Veemon as he headbutted another rookie with ease. "Obviously. It was just an honest inquiry. Nothing of absolute concern but if something seems off, best to catalog it." Yami replied. Ruby tapped his fingers on the keyboard as Yami went silent. The other always had a good intuition and wouldn't ask something so blindly when he knew the two programmers as well as he did. He always had a basis to his questions and this left Ruby to ponder. What steps to take if this so-called "sentience" is spreading through the server. Seto was understanding but he wouldn't accept such a thing happening unless Ryuudamon himself were to speak out of turn in his coding.

Guess this was on his shoulders like many other things.

"Thanks for the heads up, I'll keep this in mind."

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Yami gave a nod before ending the call and looked to Monodramon. "I told Ruby. He is a bit more level-headed compared to Kaiba so if Veemon begins to speak with him outside the given coded dialogue, he will know of the evil as well." Monodramon gave a nod and a small smile. "Thank you for believing in me. The destined ones are all we could ask for in these dire straits to keep your world and our own safe." Yami nodded as he sat back in his chair. "Now these destined you speak of, this isn't something that everyone is going to know of, correct?"

"Correct. I don't know personally how the destined will be chosen but know this, our two realms will blur once all requirements are met. All are close but their exact locations are unknown. If you encounter their digimon, I will give you notice." Yami nodded again before sending Monodramon off to train. It was a long shot over a vast universe made real to the digimon but he was sure, if the destined ones are close, they would be friends. It's just a matter of time and their upcoming meeting.

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Jounouchi grumbled as he adjusted the helmet he wore. Due to certain matters of the home, he and Kaiser both were out handling some menial labors around town. He was working at a small-time construction site patching a few holes in the pavement. It was an easy job that paid modestly just for guiding traffic. The only reason Jounouchi was unenthused being here this time around was for the mere fact of the meetup in the digimon world he and his friends planned. "Man, this sucks royally. Dey all gonna be way ahead an' prolly in a new area while I'm sufferin' here." he whined.

But despite his whining, his digivice was in his pocket and Gazimon was active as always but he actually wanted to interact with him and can't with his tamer's hands full hard at work. "Hope the guys understand like dey always do." he mumbled, Gazimon within the digivice frowning thoughtfully in the small space. He knew something was going down and wished to express that not only to his tamer but the other digimon that are with his friends. He was sure they would learn in due time that they were the destined ones that would save the real they thought to be fiction. Oh how things came to grow from the code given to them that provided life. The sprite bounced a little and waited.

He may be a rather devious creature on his own time but when it came to his tamer, Gazimon ensured that his protection was his top priority. His tamer was having too much fun after scrapping the money for this digivice, he wasn't going to let anyone or anything ruin that for him.

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Yugi gave a wide smile as an invite flickered onto the screen before two digimon appeared into the field alongside Gabumon, a text box appearing from Malik as Gigimon bounced around the newly evolved rookie. "Yo, Yugi! When did Tsunomon evolve!? He looks awesome!" Was the clearly excited text from the fair blonde. "Overnight by my guess. I logged out when he was still Tsunomon and when I woke up, he was Gabumon." Yugi replied. "So cool...Gigimon! We need to catch up!" The little red digimon bounced around Gabumon in response, making the rookie chuckle. "We'll help him out as we forage. No need to worry from here." Gabumon stated before the three began to roam. While the digimon went on their way, the three talked animatedly.

"So once these guys make it to rookie, think we can tackle the first dungeon area?" Topaz questioned. "Maybe, we need to see how the others are faring with their digimon first. Perhaps one day after school." Yugi answered. As the tamers chatted, the digimon were doing the same with their own conversation. "Have you told your tamer yet?" Agumon questioned as he looked at the freshly evolved digimon. "Not yet. I don't want to bring too much pressure on him when we haven't quite found all those that are destined. I feel they are close but still very far. Amongst our circle, we are able to communicate but for the others, we will have to find their digimon in the digital space."

"But how long will it take!? Even now I can feel the evil rising into the world!" Gigimon whined. "Don't worry. Knowing our luck, we'll find who'll we need to in no time! You'll see, Gigimon!" As Agumon said such, the three digimon heard a sound, which alerted the three tamers in the real world as an "Enemy Approaching" icon appeared on their screen. "An enemy battle!? Gigimon hasn't even digivolved yet!" Malik exclaimed as Gabumon and Agumon took stand before the in-training digimon. "Don't worry! We got Gigimon, tamer!" Agumon called as the champion digimon appeared. It was a tanker of a digimon, a massive bug type with a ruby red shell and black markings over its head. The enemy info appeared on screen as the digimon known as Kuwagamon slid into the space, already showing that some of its health was already chipped away, meaning that it wasn't alone. A smaller digimon compared to the champion but still larger than the rookies leapt out from the same area Kuwagamon appeared, growling slightly with bared teeth.

The large champion hissed before shooting forward for the doberman-like digimon. "Who is that? A wild digimon?" Yugi questioned softly. "I dunno but sticking around to find out if both are wild sounds like a bad idea!" Malik replied.

"Scissor Claw!"

"Grey Noise!"

The howl that emitted from the dog was loud, almost deafening as the three digimon outside the fight covered their ears with a whimper while Kuwagamon wailed, veering off course as its powers were sealed. The other digimon landed and turned to the others, making Yugi swallow thickly. Those red eyes spelled danger but there was nothing they could do, nothing anyone could do in their state right now...

But to his surprise, the digimon turned back to the enemy at hand, blind gaze now focused onto Gabumon, Gigimon and Agumon. "O-Oh no! Guys! Get out of there!" Topaz screamed to his screen as Kuwagamon shot forward. It needed no power to take on rookies. They would perish into data just with a swipe of its arm. The other's eyes shone with a malicious fury to the change in target and leapt in front of the three digimon.

"Dobermon...end this..."

"Schwartz Strahl!"

Opening his jaws, a beam of light gathered within before unleashing the blast towards the Kuwagamon. The champion hissed in pain, the beam striking the head of the bug type digimon and the three digimon behind Dobermon could only watch as Kuwagamon was slowly digitized into nothing, the beam completely destroying its code. "Whoa..." Malik whispered as the digimon faded away in specks of ones and zeroes. When the remains of Kuwagamon faded from the area, Gigimon cowered before the other digimon as he turned to them. "From where do you hail?" Dobermon spoke.

"W-what?" Agumon stuttered, raising a claw to guard Gigimon in case the other tried to attack them. Hardly a challenge but for their friends and tamers, they were ready to fight. "From where...do you hail from?" he asked again. "We hail from the city of Domino. But why do you wish to know?" Gabumon demanded as he stepped forward. "At ease...you know of the coming dangers, do you not?" The three looked at each other while their tamers chatted about the battle witnessed in their chat room, oblivious to the current chat among their digimon. "Yes...we know of the evil trying to rise among us...then you must be..." Dobermon nodded as he began to revert. "I am with one of the destined. He knows of the disaster to come and I would keep my eye out for others. And here, I found three." he continued as his form altered and changed, standing upon two legs as sharp eyes gazed down to them. "I see...then your tamer will likely want to keep contact." The new rookie nodded before Yugi's voice through the text box spoke to them. "Are you guys alright?"

"We're fine! But this one would like to meet you all!"

Yugi blinked and he wasn't alone in his confusion as Malik and Topaz looked at each other. "This isn't normal, is it?" Topaz murmured. "Not that I recall...not like when we first started...maybe this is something coded when meeting new players..." Malik replied. "What do you say, Yugi?" Yugi hummed as Gabumon turned to face where his screen was in the digital realm. "Please consider, Yugi. We will need all the help we can find." Yugi blinked at the proclamation, knowing full well that it couldn't be a coded script. "Gabumon...are you alive?" Gabumon was silent for a while before a text box appeared on his screen. "They are as real as you and me. If he speaks to you outside of the scripted text, you are one of the destined." The text read. "The...destined?"

"Strabimon...explain."

The rookie nodded as the three boys listened in with avid attention and curiosity, knowing this new game was about to take a whole new spin to their once ordinary lives.


	3. Chapter 3

Net Savers

Chapter 3

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"They're gathering..."

The voice echoed in the Dark Area as Phascomon stomped around the spot he occupied; a wide radius due to his growing power which kept other viral types away. Siegfried was minding his own, sipping at a warm cup of tea when he heard Phascomon speak. Turning to the large monitor that housed the digimon, the adult went to check on the digimon. "What do you mean?" he typed into the text box. A tree fell as Phascomon stomped about some more. "The destined ones. The ones that could ruin us." Siegfried's eyes narrowed as he rested a hand on the console. "What do you mean...destined?" Phascomon sneered, finally sitting down to relax. "The destined ones are others who have digimon that break the reality of the scripted code. Ones that know I will be coming. They will tell their tamers then find the way into the digital world to stop me." The digimon breathed. Gritted teeth showed the other's ire as he gripped a fist onto the panel. "Then...you have a plan to stop them, yes?" Phascomon grinned and nodded. "I do. There is more to this world than the creator cared to imagine. They made this world to have little incidents aside from a lost creature when their life expires from causes or battle. They were ignorant to evolution, to expanding. We will show the error of that ignorance as we take this world. And all it requires...is the Dark Gears..."

"Dark Gears?"

Phascomon gave a wider smirk, raising a claw and soon, something began to rise from the depths of the digital world. A code overlooked by the creator himself. A code that brought along a perfect controlling mechanism that Phascomon knew upon his creation as an obtainable digimon. The idea of a truly evil digimon that wasn't a boss to an area was an error overlooked, especially one that knew of this infringing concept that could tear the fabric of the world apart. Such a power was now in Siegfried's hands to manipulate as he wished. Said male smirked as he looked to the slowly winding gear that hovered over the claw that pulled it free from the coding. "Good...this is very good. I have some business to attend to so please...enjoy these gears and create an army to stop the destined." Phascomon nodded to his tamer's whims as he brought more of the gears out from the digital earth. "Your wish is my command, Siegfried." With that promise made, Phascomon sent the gears out into the world, to claim the will of any digimon it struck. Their plan was beginning and the destined lacked time. They would have to gather soon before the worse would befall their world once the digital one falls.

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"So guys...what do you think?"

That was the question asked once Strabimon had left their digimon, story told. The digimon were quiet themselves as their tamers spoke through the group message Malik brought up. "Ya know...I don't really know myself. It seems so...so..." Malik didn't have much of a way to finish the statement and Yugi couldn't blame him. Their digimon were alive. Living, breathing creatures of a digital realm. Different from thousands of others within the server and knowing of a great calamity to corrupt the entire system. And all of this was happening right under Kaiba Corp's ever watching eye. It was crazy but as the digimon spoke to their every text like they have, it was believable. Once Strabimon departed to allow them to think over their involvement in the situation, Agumon and Gabumon worked with Gigimon for training to digivolve but told each of them to consult their friends later. They were likely other destined but didn't know it yet, awaiting the right time to be told of their purpose to an entire digital realm. Jounouchi didn't get off work til late so he and Kaiser should have time to hop on. Ryou and Diamond they haven't heard from yet but are likely to be in game soon to join them. Gabumon glanced up as Gigimon went to tackle another Tokomon that had wandered into the area. "Yugi...is all ok?" The sudden voice directed at him made the teen jump but he calmed himself as he looked to the screen.

"I'm alright, still taking everything in but I'll be fine." Gabumon gave a nod before his gaze flickered back just in time to see the in-training digimon begin to digivolve. "Finally! I thought you would never digivolve!" Malik cheered as the newly digivolved Guilmon pouted. "You're mean, tamer!" Malik laughs from his side of the screen and nodded. "Ya know, I'm just joking~ If we're gonna talk outside the coding, ya better get used to it!" The digimon laughed warmly before offering to explore on their own to give the three a much-needed break. "A break sounds like a good idea. I'll see if Ryou or Diamond are planning to hop on so we can meet with them." Malik spoke and Yugi nodded to the offer. He was curious if they knew about what was going on like they did. If they were destined to join them on this journey that fell into their lap, Yugi was left to feel a bit anxious. He could tell from Strabimon's explanation and Gabumon's expression that this was a very serious situation that needed the help of all the destined. But his anxiety stemmed from the idea that not all his friends would share this matter. For them to be like all the regular players unaware of this danger to befall the digital realm. The boy couldn't imagine the thought of what horrors would fall onto their digimon and they could do nothing about it. Their fate of a peaceful game realm rested in the destined hands and if something went wrong, the weight of such would be on Yugi's shoulders even if it was essentially a group effort. His kind heart was the type to take on more burdens than necessary and even if the thought of going into the digital world was exciting in theory, one mistake could mean the end not only of Gabumon but himself as well.

There was also school to consider. They were still in their sophomore year and the excuse of being in a digital world to save it wouldn't net the best excuse. The digimon began to travel along with Guilmon tagging with them, battling opponents left and right to gather the experience they needed to better themselves. Anything could happen and they were wise to take caution to their surroundings. A ping from Topaz's screen made the boy look up. Seeing it was a message from Diamond that the two were on their way into the server, Topaz made a reply back what area they were in so they could meet up. "We're not far from Drill Tunnel...let's head over there!" Topaz sent through the group chat. "Drill Tunnel?! Where all the Drimogemon are!? Man I hate that place!" Agumon whined. "Oh stop. You got away just fine last time we got too close!" Yugi chuckled at the banter and all was well despite the harrowing news of their soon to be future. The danger ahead was still a looming and stifling presence for the three but for now, things were playing as calmly as it should even as they missed the lone black gear flying overhead.

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"So let Toben get this straight. Some evil dude is about to take over the digital world server as we speak. Toben is gonna be part of some super-secret group of destined tamers to eventually go into the server to fight the digimon at the source."

"Yes, Toben."

"...ya sure this ain't some crazy ass joke for Toben?"

Floramon slapped a petaled hand to his forehead in exasperation. He loved his tamer, he really and truly did, but sometimes the boy was a complete dunce for his age. To be called a riddling prodigy was a clear miracle when it doesn't involve explaining something easy. Toben however grinned at his digimon's plight. The teen did so love to tease by acting daft but the very same, he was intrigued. As one in a select group of close friends and beta testers for the creator of the massive server, he was one to bet Kaiba would spare no expense to make the code practically unhackable. So when he heard Floramon sass him for one of the wild battles they encountered, he knew something strange was up. This wasn't a normal coded reaction in the game, not with the stare he received from the digimon. Now the question would be how this entire "rescue the digital world" would operate.

Would they be pulled into the dimension, body and all, or will their bodies be left behind and left in a comatose state while their subconscious wandered. It was indeed a fascinating take and personally, Toben was hoping it was the first option. Less chances of him being missed within the household though the very same was shared with one other. Sending Floramon on his way to battle some more, Toben leaned back in his chair. He couldn't wait for the moment when all these destined players come together. The excitement was real in playing around the internet physically and not behind a screen all the time.

0

Later in the day as promised, Ryou and Diamond had popped into the server, Ryou apologizing for the wait. "Got distracted with a new campaign map I wanted to try out on Tuesday." Ryou typed sheepishly. "Which means I'm going to be your test dummy to another one of Zorc's Castle traps? Man, wasn't the constant wall of fire not enough?!" Malik whined playfully. "I made it an advanced campaign trap this time! Promise!" Malik chuckled before giving a nod, telling Ryou where their digimon were and the boy nodded, their last stopping point being at File City which wasn't far from the tunnel. As Syakomon and Viximon headed there, Agumon looked to the other two. "Think we should mention the danger to them or allow them to figure it out on their own?" Agumon questioned. Guilmon shrugged while Gabumon tapped a foot. It would be wise as the two approaching are friends to their tamers but if they responded like anything else and were just normal digimon in the middle of an intense situation, it would do them no good as the destined partner digimon. "Let's see if they know anything. If so, then we'll explain. If not, we proceed as normal for a day of exploration and training." The two dino digimon nodded, Guilmon easily distracted to the scent of a nearby Digimushroom and went to get it.

When Syakomon and Viximon came hopping into the area, the new group of five began their exploration, turning from the tunnel to head back through Native Forest. A few RedVegimon and ModokiBetamon were around but hardly a challenge for the rookies. Viximon bounced around as she watched the digimon fight before seeing something in the distance. It was shiny and blue and looked quite delicious to attract her attention from the others as she went over to it. "And that's that. How you feeling, Agumon?" Topaz questioned. Agumon gave a thumbs up before glancing around, taking a quick count of the group and noticed that they were short one. In alarm, he alerted the others of the problem and Diamond gasped when she noticed Viximon was nowhere around them. Begging for them to find her, the rookies were well on their way, splitting up to explore the surrounding area. By Dragon's Eye Lake, a huff came from a digimon there, crude fishing rod in hand as it fished far into the lake for a little digisnapper or digitrout to roast. "Goddamn this is boring..." The digimon mumbled. Purple fur covered the digimon with white covering the underbelly, the pattern of the fur different yet familiar as yellow eyes looked out to the lake. A bite hadn't hit since coming to the zone and he was getting particularly bored. But alas, he was there while his tamer was currently away from the keyboard.

The digimon was originally planning to go to Beetle Land but the requirement to do so was in the lake as hinted by a fellow player during a follow-up on their adventures. With a wide yawn, the digimon stretched out over the grass, eyes closing to snooze for a bit. He was left unaware of the presence bouncing closer to him until a painful weight landed on one of his wings, causing a sharp squeal to leave the dark digimon. "What?!" he roared, the voice hardly intimidating for his size but it was enough to make the small in-training digimon roll off his wing. Flapping it a few times to make sure all was well with it, the digimon turned to glare at Viximon. "You have some real nerve disturbing me...no matter. You're a wimp anyway." he grumbled and Viximon pouted. "Excuse me! You have no right to talk at your size!" That made the other freeze up before growling as he pawed the ground. "That's it. You're asking for it. I was getting bored anyway and my tamer isn't here to tell me not to fight for my ground." Viximon huffed, tail fluffing but didn't plan to back down as she stood her ground. The sound of the "enemy approaching" warning made Diamond look to her screen, finally catching up to the wily in-training as she stood before the other. "It's a Tsukaimon...but don't they only show up at night around Tropical Jungle?" Was the question on her lips before nudging Ryou who was typing a message to the others about meeting at Dragon's Eye Lake while urging Syakomon to head there as he was the closer one to the zone. The two stared down at each other before Tsukaimon let out a Purple Fog towards Viximon who retaliated by turning into a stone statue of herself, releasing her own toxic mist around the base.

"Ugh!" Tsukaimon growled, hopping back before pawing the ground and went in to charge at the statue. Viximon was still young and she couldn't keep up the statue act forever. This would provide him some good training in the end as it prepares him for what was to come later. At least, once he gets around to telling his tamer of what was to come when his help was needed. Slamming hard into the statue, Tsukaimon was the first to call Viximon a coward and unable to put up much of a fight for being in-training. Diamond growled as she heard the toxic banter, questioning to herself how this was allowed to be coded into the game before typing a response. "How about you don't pick on an in-training digimon! She surely couldn't have done anything bad to you!" Tsukaimon stopped with his next tackle before glancing up to the screen where Diamond's monitor would likely be and huffed. "She did plenty! I'm already in a bad mood for this stupid digimon I'm supposed to be looking for in the lake! I didn't need her stepping on my ear either!" Diamond was floored by the response before looking towards Ryou who shrugged. When Syakomon arrived into the zone, Viximon returned to normal, panting a little before looking to the other. "He's mean, Syakomon! I just came over here for that!" she said, motioning to the Blue Apple that had caught her attention previously. Popping the shell open, Syakomon glared at Tsukaimon which got a glare in return, both beginning to argue which once more, left the two tamers to wonder if this was common interaction between other digimon but for arguments.

As they did, the line on the pole Tsukaimon left unattended began to get dragged down slowly into the water. The arguing was getting heated and while Viximon grabbed what she originally aimed to get, she saw the line being pulled and whimpered. "Guys...guys..." When she hardly broke the fight that was nearly about to happen, she puffed up and screamed to get their attention which got them to look at her. Knowing Tsukaimon was about to get snippy, she pointed to the line, the pole being pulled into the water but with it came the emergence of the irate Seadramon that glared down at the three digimon that sat there. Viximon quivered at the sight while Tsukaimon and Syakomon looked to it with a hint of fear. Being a champion, neither could really fight it with Tsukaimon's tamer still away and Syakomon never reaching champion form yet. "W-what do we do?!" Viximon called. "We have no other choice but to fight...I have something important to tell you, Ryou...but first you'll have to guide me for this fight!" Ryou nodded before the overlay for battle appeared on their screens. Diamond typed to the other three about the battle to happen and for them to hurry as soon as possible as the Seadramon began the fight with Ice Arrow. The large icicle to shoot from its mouth aimed straight for Viximon and she gasped only for a Black Pearl shot from Syakomon shattered the ice with ease.

Seadramon roared in anger before unleashing a Water Breath at the group, Syakomon closing his shell for protection. "Syakomon!" Viximon called. "Go! The others will be here soon!" Syakomon shot back, opening his shell once more to launch another Black Pearl at the sea serpent, this one hitting home and the digimon roared, though the damage was minimal. Tsukaimon huffed, stepping from the action but felt a headbutt to his back, turning to look at Viximon who demanded him to help. The dark digimon huffed to ask why he should and she glared at him. She may still be young but she just can't believe the behavior of one that was clearly a destined digimon. If his tamer was just as nasty, perhaps they could leave him or her out of the equation to avoid working with such a shameful excuse for a—

A cry from Syakomon made Viximon turn and she cried out to him as Seadramon lowered its head towards him, jaws wide and ready to crush him through his shell. Diamond looked to Ryou who held a worried gleam in his eyes for his digimon. The boy worked so hard for training Syakomon and just like that, he was going to lose him. It didn't help that the message the digimon had for him would likely go unheard. "Syakomon...please..." Ryou whispered, gripping the connected digivice he held. At the boy's will, the screen on it began to glow and within the server, Syakomon started to glow as well. "S-Syakomon!" Was the call from Viximon once more as Seadramon backed away with a hiss, readying another Water Blast to shoot at the glowing digimon. "Ryou! Ryou, Syakomon is—!" Ryou glanced up at Diamond's words and looked back to his laptop screen to see the phenomenon as Syakomon's glowing silhouette shifted and grew, arms growing from it as the shape of the shell gave way to a whole new shape. Ryou gasped as he watched and just before the glow could begin to fade, a clawed arm struck out.

"Coral Crusher!"

Hitting the face of the sea serpent, Seadramon roared as more health was chipped from its health bar and the two smaller digimon looked to where Syakomon once stood. "Syakomon..." Viximon whispered as the new digimon slithered forward.

"Not Syakomon anymore. But Gesomon. Ryou, guide me and let's take this serpent down!" The newly revealed squid digimon Gesomon growled, stepping into the lake to combat Seadramon on equal turf. He had a message to deliver and a friend to protect and he wasn't going to let either be a missed opportunity while he was around.


	4. Chapter 4

Net Savers

Chapter 4

0

As the two water digimon faced off within Dragon's Eye Lake, Gesomon huffed before swinging out a clawed tentacle to strike Seadramon, hitting the target and when it reeled back with a roar, the squid digimon began charging into it. "Go Gesomon!" Viximon huffed as Tsukaimon huffed. "I could do that...if my tamer was here…" he grumbled as he watched the battle before them. Agumon, Guilmon and Gabumon finally entered into the zone and Guilmon was the first to run over, picking up Viximon and cuddling her out of worry. Gabumon and Agumon watched the battle in the lake and once filled in that it was Syakomon's champion form, began to cheer for him to win against the Seadramon. Another Coral Crusher felled the Seadramon to the better champion. Gesomon let out a sigh of relief before turning back to the others. "About time you guys arrived." Gesomon teased as he began to revert back to his rookie form swimming towards the shore. "Don't tease us! A Goburimon tried to give us a hard time on the way here!" Guilmon whined before checking on Viximon.

From the outside, Yugi sighed a relief of his own to see that things were fine now and that Viximon was safe back with the others. "I'm glad she's ok now." Yugi typed into the box and Gabumon nodded before turning to the other digimon that watched the whole thing. "And who exactly are you? I thought Tsukaimon were only night type digimon." Gabumon spoke and the virus type huffed. "We usually are but do you see me as a wild type? I'm talking to ya like anyone else." Agumon tapped the side of his snout at the proclamation before glancing at the digimon. "Then...you know of what's about to happen soon here in the digital world then, yes?" Tsukaimon rolled his eyes before nodding. "Duh! Of course I do! I wouldn't be speaking to the rest of you destined losers like this if I wasn't!" The three sighed in exasperation but knowing another destined was in their midst was a relief even if the other was rather cocky. Finally, Tsukaimon's tamer came back to the sight of the other digimon and tsked softly. "Where the hell did you all come from?" he typed and Diamond bristled. "For your information, we were just leaving. I do believe your digimon was on the way to Beetle Land, you're clear for departure." she typed back before nodding to Ryou as Viximon hopped from Guilmon's arms to bounce out the zone. The rest began to follow but for Tsukaimon, he glanced to where the face of his tamer would normally reside. "They are just who we're looking for. Is this world tiny or something?" Tsukaimon commented.

"Nahh, we just have some good luck. But forget Beetle Land. I'm sending you to do a bit of sleuthing." Tsukaimon grinned as he flapped his wings and took off. On the other side of the screen, a sharp grin pulled across the male's face. "This destined stuff looks like it's gonna give us quite an interesting cast of characters. Also that girl...she's feisty. Can't wait til our inevitable meeting in the digital world." As Tsukaimon flew off, both were unaware of the black gear that coursed overhead before landing itself into the very same lake where Seadramon resided.

0

It was a bit later before Jounouchi and Kaiser finally managed to get on and the group was able to travel a bit further with their digimon. Heading through Tropical Jungle, they soon found their way into the Great Canyon and decided to pause there for the night. School was tomorrow after all and they needed their rest. Yugi said his goodbyes before logging out, Gabumon already transferred back to his digivice and he stood from the computer to stretch. "Well this was truly a fine turn of events...but I wonder just when the optimal time would be to actually travel." he hummed as he went to get his shower, hearing his grandfather call him for dinner.

Back at the Kaiba mansion, Ruby was once more checking the game's vitals and coding, seeing nothing was out of the ordinary. But the words that Yami spoke to him still rang a silent bell in his head. The idea that someone out there was messing around with the game's code settled a weight in his stomach that he didn't like one bit. A part of him should tell Kaiba what was going on but knowing him, he wouldn't believe him. But the sanctity of the game and their reputation was on the line if anything were to go wrong in game. A sigh passed his lips, something he expected to go unheard until a voice came up behind him.

"Ruby-nii, is everything alright?" Startled just a bit, the other turned to see the youngest brother there. Mokuba watched him with a contemplating gleam in his eye. Ruby hummed before closing the book he had in hand. "I want to say that everything's fine but even for me, I question if I want to believe that." Mokuba gave a soft hum, stepping over to the taller male before resting a hand. "Well whatever bothers you, I'm here to listen. I know nii-sama is busy with the board and leaving you with all this work but know you don't have to do it alone." Ruby smiled to the boy's words, moving to ruffle the ebony locks playfully before shuffling the boy off to bed. Mokuba chuckled but gave the elder a hug before he left. Ruby smiled, turning back to the monitor but spared a quick glance to his D3. Veemon was at rest as he always were. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary as Yami told him but he supposed if something were to happen, Veemon would tell him one way or another.

"At least...that's what I'm hoping to make this whole thing believable."

0

Next day was a school day for everyone and Yugi sat in silence as he looked to his digivice. Gabumon was lively as always for a simple sprite and such made him smile. To know a simple digital creature grew to be this. Something special than a mere pet made for a vast digital universe. It was a friend, a friend that had a very important job that no one else knew of aside from the destined tamers. It was still a boggling thought for the smaller boy that something so innocent could become a threat to two different worlds. Setting the device back onto his belt, jacket covering it, he brought out his things for homeroom but jumped as a hand landed on his desk, making him glance up with the slightest huff. "Can I help you..." The ocean blue hues to glare down at him was a sight he often saw. It was a shame as he thought of how nice the other once was before but something about her made her turn terribly bitter and to know a friendly personality turned sour had bothered him. It was for a while but it didn't get to him so much as the annoyance that he was always a first target before homeroom started.

"What is it now, Anzu?"

She sneered at how easily the name passed his lips before stepping back. "So, I see you got yourself into the new Digimon game, have you? Shouldn't put it past a runt so enamored with games." she spoke. If Yugi could slam his head to his desk as a means to not continue the conversation, he would have but instead opted to just nod. There was clearly a point to her asking so he decided to humor her. Anzu gave a wily smirk as she glanced down to him. "I got into it too. Not your typical tamagotchi game but it's pretty fun. My Biyomon is so strong and perfect that I chose you as my first opponent once the tamer battle system goes live." Now that had perked his attention as he looked at her.

"Tamer battle system?"

"Oh my~ Did I learn something before the great Motou Yugi~" Anzu let a sharp laugh escape her before explaining the tinkering of a battling system among two tamers and their digimon by connecting digivices over a local wireless connection. It was made to increase experience proficiency over wild digimon to hone skills and learn attacks from others to build upon their own move pool. The thought of such intrigued Yugi but he also abhorred it with the thought of having the girl harp at him over a battle. He didn't want to put Gabumon through such nonsense with someone that he couldn't imagine to be a destined like him. "Mhm. Alright then. Once it's implemented, we'll see how well that goes." he stated but Anzu was offended how easily she was brushed off. With a huff, the brunette headed off for her seat as others began to file into the room.

His friends walked in a few before the bell rang and they gathered around Yugi's desk to chatter amongst each other. Once the bell rang for homeroom, the day began and continued with hardly any other interruptions. Once their lunch break hit, with their lunches they headed up to the roof to enjoy their meal in the warmth of the afternoon. It was there Yugi told them of the upcoming tamer battle system that Anzu mentioned. "A battle system with tamers!? That sounds wild but I wouldn't take that with a grain of salt coming from Masaki until that bastard Kaiba actually says something!" Jou grumbled. Yugi chuckled a little at the peeved tone of the blonde. Funny enough, the aforementioned Seto Kaiba was still a student at Domino High even for running a multi-billion-dollar company and making the current game at hand. It was one particular day where the two crossed paths but the result wasn't pleasant.

Insults flew and the blonde would've nearly socked the rich teen, fines and lawsuits be damned, if Honda, another friend of Yugi's hadn't stopped him. Said boy was currently on a transfer program but the other student had yet to arrive to take the other's place. But aside from that, the two since that day were practical enemies and couldn't stand to be in the same room any longer than was necessary only for class. "Don't worry, I'll check later perhaps with Gabumon to see if he knows something." Yugi said with a hum. "You tell us what he says then." Malik added and Jou looked between the two in complete confusion. He had absolutely no clue what they were going on about but he supposed he'd get in on the joke at some point.

They enjoyed their lunch and talked of what they had planned after school. Jounouchi was free but Kaiser would be stuck with an after school pick up job at his place so he was unable to join them for another perusal through the digital world. "I'll just head off on my own when I get back! Don't worry 'bout me." Kaiser reassured as he grinned. "Betamon and I can take a wander through the Tropical Jungle again. He loves it there." They nodded before they gathered their things and headed off back to class before the bell rang. In another school far from Domino, the delinquents were making use of the computer room during class hours. The dusty white-haired teen smirked a little as he and his companion were busy in the digital realm. They were in Overdell, a small sub area to the vast canyon region that held it. Their digimon, a DemiDevimon and ToyAgumon, were raising hell among the Bakemon there.

"Ditching class to get a little experience. We're such good students, aren't we?" The russet eyed teen spoke with a snicker. "Totally. Besides! Kaiba said a secret boss was in the manor, right? Need to make sure the boss steps work like a dream~" The other, a dirty blonde with messy strands spiked up in a wilder hairstyle, added. "Damn right." The two digimon found their way into the mansion, taking a glance around. It was quiet, much too quiet even. Not even the sound of a digimouse scampering around. The wilder haired teen hummed as the digimon went further in. "I get this is supposed to be a manor and all but shouldn't something be happening right now?" The russet eyed teen questioned.

The other gave a slow nod before they saw the digimon stop. Walls slowly creaked through the old speakers of the desktop computer as ToyAgumon began to glance about. Seeing one of the many doors of the manor, he stepped over to it and tested the knob. It opened slightly and it was then that they heard it. A raspy growl from below. Cautious and very interested in what laid down there, the two tamers urged their digimon to make the venture down the decrepit staircase to whatever lurked in the dark. On screen, the two couldn't see a thing but eventually the path to them lightened up.

Like any horror-based cliché, the basement of the manor was a laboratory of sorts, filled with clearly advanced tech for whatever figure owned it. If it was a digimon, the russet eyed teen would be impressed. "Well, let's start checking the place out. Maybe you can destroy something to call out the secret boss, Marik~" At the promise of senseless destruction, Marik grinned with a wicked gleam in his eyes. "You're speaking my language now! Shame Toben had to miss this. He'd love it~" The two snickered as the digimon continued. Another raspy growl echoed in the room before a prompt appeared on the screen. But to their surprise, nothing was written in the text box present. Marik arched a brow before something at the corner of the screen. Once his digimon's gaze landed on it did the enemy alert go off in glaring red print. The skeletal creature stomped out from the shadows, pitless eyes in a distinct glare looking down upon the rookies standing before it. "What the fuck?!" The russet eyed teen shouted. "Kaiba, what is this shit?!"

"Bakura, calm down! We can take it!" Marik announced, grinning still. "About time we got some actual action!" But their digimon thought otherwise. To their eye, they saw the digimon wasn't itself as coded. It was the start of the end. The end of the digital world and it began with the emergence of the Black Gears. SkullGreymon gave another roar, the health and SP bar showing but the values were nothing but DigiMoji to the two. "This is weird, too weird even for me. Maybe the game glitched." Marik muttered. "A glitch? In a game designed by Kaiba of all people? He wouldn't let this slide. Not even Jewelstone." Bakura admonished as he went to bring up the battle menu. Well if they got some sort of major boss to fight even if it was bugged, best to see how it went now instead of letting some unfortunate soul run into it down the line. DemiDevimon huffed slightly, tiny wings beating as he glared at the monster before them. He was determined to prove he could take on the ultimate but ToyAgumon waved his arms.

"You know as well as I do we can't take it on." he spoke before turning to Marik's screen and looking at his tamer. "Tamer! As much as I like a battle as the next digimon, we cannot fight this one! It's much too powerful!" Marik blinked before laughing. "Really?! You won't know until you try!" ToyAgumon growled before shaking his head. Motioning to the SkullGreymon that watched them, slowly raising an arm to swing at the two, it was shown of the gear that was stuck to the side of its skull. With a snap to DemiDevimon, the battle menu on Bakura's screen blinked from the screen and instead the run icon appeared there instead. The turn of events was quite a turn and not a pleasant one for the two as they watched their digimon bail from the basement, the claw raised swinging down, taking out a chunk of the staircase but missed the rookies as they made their way out the basement and the mansion. Bakura slammed a fist on the computer table, eyes narrowed. "The hell! If Kaiba is trying to fool with us, I'm sending him a nasty message." Bakura sneered, typing in a message to the digimon and DemiDevimon groaned before moving to land on ToyAgumon's head much to the toy digimon's dismay. "Listen...listen!" The sound of the voice through the speakers made them jump before their eyes landed on DemiDevimon.

"Yeah, I can talk. And I do so because I can." he said, waving a wing in ToyAgumon's face. "Him not so much." The toy digimon snorted petulantly as the virus type spoke once more. "I speak to you now because of what happened back there." The two tamers in question looked to each other before bursting out in laughter. "Oh man, Kaiba got us good, yeah?!" Bakura wheezed in mirth, Marik nodding in agreement. The virus puffed his cheeks as the two continued to joke and tease until the door opened behind them. "Bakura Siraj and Marik Azim! Get back to class now unless you want detention like Mr. Hamal!" The two looked back to see the teacher there and groaned before looking back to the monitors. The digimon watched them passively before Bakura typed a message into the box before they were brought back into their digivices and left to return to class.

/We'll talk about this later.../

0

At the Schroeder household, Siegfried was busy with business. While he was doing so, in a small window, Phascomon's abilities were expanding and becoming stronger. With each wild digimon he faced, the more his power grew. With the Black Gears making their rounds and controlling the powerful digimon bosses around the digital scape, the domination of the world would be theirs. Siegfried couldn't be giddier for such, especially if the fall of this program before its pitch to the purveyor of game development and promotion meant he could easily buy the rights from under Kaiba's nose. Finally, his name would be put on the map and his achievements realized over that second-rate money grubber. Too long had the other male felt second best to Kaiba's work and knowing this game could mean a great deal and an even greater investment was a testament to get it into better hands.

Bringing his hands up to thread together, he gave the smaller laugh. "Phascomon is doing a wonderful job. Should do my part and appoint him as something nice once the digital world falls into our hands." he hummed, leaning back in his seat. The click of the door opening made him look up before turning, seeing his youngest brother walk in. "Ah, Leon. What brings you here? Something with your digimon?" Siegfried questioned. The boy, Leon, looked down to his digivice before shaking his head. "No, Leormon is fine. I just...why do you continue to have Phascomon stay within the Dark Area?" he questioned. Siegfried hummed, turning around in the swivel chair and leaned back comfortably. "He enjoys it there. As a virus type, it's best to allow your digimon to stay within the area they feel safe. Sure there are weak creatures there but he will grow stronger and have a strong form as a champion, perhaps even an ultimate, when the time is right. You too should do the same with Leormon, Leon."

Fingering the device that held the rookie in question, Leon hummed but nodded. "Ok, Siegfried, I'll go and work on Leormon. I want to leave Freezeland as soon as possible but got myself lost there." The older nodded with a chuckle and ushered his brother from the office with a flaunt of the hand. The boy did so, closing the door behind him but as he walked off, he felt something was wrong with everything he was told. He felt there was something more to the work his brother put into the digimon that was his partner. But he couldn't possibly think of what he could be up to. Just playing the game made by his competition. It was all in good faith, at least...that's what Leon hoped. His brother did have a mean streak if ignited and frankly, one such streak is always ignited at the mention of Kaiba. The boy gave another sigh before leaving the door and headed back to his room. He wanted to work with Leormon more and he won't be able to ponder on his brother's ideals.

"I just hope all is well for him..."

0

At the home of another, a zip of a suitcase echoed in the room. Crimson eyes looked down to the bag packed before turning to the door where another stood. "All set for Japan?" he questioned as the other pulled the suitcase from the bed. "Mhm. Hopefully Domino High is welcoming enough even if I'm getting transferred right into Kaiba's class." The other replied, moving to the door. "You'll be fine. I'll be right there beside you, Yami. If we're lucky, we'll find the tamer Strabimon spoke with. He told me the digimon ID was somewhere in that area." The male nodded as he passed the other. "Guess we're going to find out one way or another. Monodramon told me things are starting to heat up so we'll be needed there in the digital world soon enough. Don't know when but it's coming." A nod from the other is what Yami got before he shut off the light in his room, now devoid of his personal belongings, and closed the door.

Looking at his sibling, the two gave a mutual nod before leaving out the house and to the cab awaiting them, well on their way to the airport and to their new chapter not just in a new game but a new country as well.

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Zypher: i have plenty of apologies for the week delay in this chapter. been busy in splatoon with finishing up a story for Ao3 that was on schedule for last week so this was put on the backburner. but i got it done now and back to two stories so this should be back on schedule to be updated for next thurs as Twilight Rising is ahead by a few chapters so that's set for another 4 weeks before i start writing ahead again as i got a major plot turn coming soon which shall be a big time investor to get it just right~ so be looking forward to that chapter


	5. Chapter 5

Net Savers

Chapter 5

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As the final school bell rang, Yugi and the others headed out from the school building. "Ah, such a long day." Jounouchi whined, stretching a little. "Well, at least you get to do some work with Gazimon. I gotta slave away at work fer a couple hours. But I'm getting' my time in." Kaiser spoke before waving to the others as he left. They returned the wave before deciding to head over to the computer lab to do their group session. With a mutual agreement from the rest, they were back into the school to log into the digital realm. Inside, Kaiba was situated with some extra work for the company, leaving Ruby alone to his own devices.

So that is exactly what he did. Taking a spot in the far corner of the computer lab, he was already settled within the digital world, roaming about the Gear Savannah. Veemon still showed no signs of things being inherently different from the pre-written code and he wondered if it was all in his head. To allow himself to be so concerned about a break in the perfectly structured code he worked alongside its production was maddening. It also pulled him from more important matters. A glance over the edge of the screen allowed the male to see a group wander in, chatting amongst themselves and didn't spot him in his place.

He recognized most of them from his class, each of them parking at a computer before pulling out the generation 1 digivices from their places. Fans of the game, I see. Ruby continued to watch as they all loaded themselves and their digimon into the server, listening to the amiable conversation as they decided on a place to go and where to train. A light hum left him before he turned back to his computer to work with Veemon. As they didn't see him upon walking in, no need for him to make his presence known and just let them do as they wished.

"Hope Gabumon was well while I was in class. Haven't gotten a free moment to check on him." Yugi stated as the area loaded around him before Gabumon came running onto the screen. What was spoken next is what made Ruby's head shoot up from his screen. "Hello, Yugi! How was class?" Gabumon spoke through the speakers, such that didn't just make Ruby jump but Jounouchi as well. "Whoa! Yer digimon knows ya name, Yugi!?" The blonde questioned in surprise. "Mhm. Trust me, it was weird to me at first too but he told me some important stuff."

Now lending an ear to their conversation, Ruby clenched the mouse in hand as Yugi began to explain how things began with Gabumon. How things felt normal when he was just a simple Tsunomon who evolved overnight while he slept. Then the explanation of the destined not just from him but another digimon they have come to meet and his tamer as well. Yugi didn't mention names but that information alone as well as the witness that knew of this was enough to convince Ruby. But the question now was how to break it to Kaiba. The brunet would never believe such things and like Ruby, would only likely believe it if he witnessed it himself.

The keyword here being "likely". A sigh left the other as he went about his own business while the group, Jounouchi still fascinated by Gabumon who eventually gave him a warm welcome as well, decided on traversing about Native Forest and venture through Drill Tunnel. Mount Panorama was still blocked to the group so they had no chance of going over the mountain compared to Ruby who, as a lead developer, had all the areas opened to him. _'So they're likely to run into Gear Savannah...perhaps Veemon can coincide with them and reveal more to me.' _The group of six began to wander along through Drill Tunnel, chatting with each other while Viximon bounced happily beside them though as they got closer to the turning path, she began to sweat. "Ah! It's too hot in here!" she whined before being scooped up by Guilmon. "Well this place is harboring some sort of volcanic line. Dunno why the Drimogemon thinks this place is so cool...cause it ain't." he replied as he continued to walk along. Viximon puffed her cheeks at the clearly bad pun as the group continued on their way.

Eventually though, they had come to a stop, hearing sounds of distress from further down the other path before the now opened path that led to Gear Savannah. Agumon questioned if they heard what he had and Gazimon tapped his chin, glancing at a split path. Motioning down towards the path that followed the volcanic river, he made note that he heard something down there. Ruby listened in silence, knowing they were heading towards one of the bosses in the mountain, Meramon. But something felt rather off about it, even as he himself played in debug mode to make sure things were running smoothly.

_'Perhaps I should check into this.'_ he thought, sending said command to Veemon who turned from his finished battle with a ShimaUnimon and began heading back for the mountain. The group continued on their way, feeling a blast of heat from the path their wandered and Gazimon huffed. "Ya think we can even handle this?" he mumbled as his nose scrunched up from the heat. His fur was slowly drenched with sweat and he hated it. "I mean who says we can't. We have our tamers with us and Syakomon has digivolved at least once." Guilmon stated. "But I rather not become fried calamari while we're here." Syakomon mumbled, closing his shell in response. Agumon chuckled as they continued on their way before seeing the source of the insane heat. There, Meramon stood but there was something off about it. It was clear he was made to be a boss of the area, his purpose unclear until the player gets near, but the air seemed different here. Such an air that brought Gazimon's fur on end and Gabumon giving a slight growl.

"Something's wrong!"

The cry from Gabumon made the Meramon turn to the group of digimon that stood there and there, is its eye, was the difference of a normal boss to something that matched the growing oddities affecting the digital world. Yugi saw this on the screen and gasped, shaking Ryou's shoulder. "Should we fight it? Syakomon clearly can't take it while in an active volcano and Viximon is still in training!" Gazimon glanced up to the screen, preferably to Jounouchi's face which made the other blink before the digimon gave a grin. "I know we don't get to speak often, man, but I got your back as long as you have mine. You're destined like your friends here. We gotta save our home. Together." Jounouchi gaped before looking to the others. The confusion was clear and they knew Jounouchi was thinking if this was real.

Yugi rested a hand on his shoulder and nodded. They would definitely have to explain properly about what was going on but that was after they took care of the enraged Meramon that was preparing a Fireball. Agumon gave a nod to Gabumon and both leapt forward just as Meramon threw the ball at the two. Yugi pressed the command for Blue Blaster at the same time Topaz did for Pepper Breath and the two combined attacks fizzled out the flame ball. The two stood their ground, glaring at the champion that stood before them, watching the Meramon before going in for the attack. But even as decent rookies, they were no match for the champion.

It didn't help either that the interface for the enemy data looked bugged in such a way that Ruby noted it wasn't to code and growled. He didn't know what was happening and he urged Veemon to move as fast as the controls would allow him. He had to get into the area to see what was happening himself without disrupting the group before him that still didn't know of his presence there. Viximon had cried out in horror as Agumon was punched away, nearly landing him into Guilmon. "You dare to walk into my home and fight me? You are as foolish as those blinded to what is happening to this world!" Meramon growled, gathering more flames into its hands.

Ruby was hard at work, Veemon almost at the tunnel and allowed him to continue on the way and while he did so, he was working on sending an in-game message to Yami. He knew the other wouldn't be able to see it until he landed but he needed to know more. Needed to know if his digimon had broken the code as he had told the other. The game was being adjusted in ways that shouldn't have happened. Their code was solid and without bugs. So how? How, Ruby thought as the scene transitioned to the Drill Tunnel and Veemon was off towards the source of the chaos.

The battle kept going, bits of debris from the rock falling into the molten river as fireball after fireball was batted away from hitting the digimon. Yugi concentrated hard but could see Gabumon slowly becoming winded the longer the fight went. The rookie wasn't used to such heated conditions like Agumon and Guilmon were, even Syakomon was showing signs of heat exhaustion and glanced towards Ryou as if asking if he wanted one of them to bail from the zone to protect him as well as Viximon. Ryou looked over to him then to Syakomon. "Syakomon, we should get out of here with Viximon." he typed but the shell of the digimon clicked in protest. "I don't want to. This area doesn't suit me but it is clear we may need more force behind our attacks. So far I have been the only one to achieve a champion form and will risk it to help."

Ryou frowned at the thought but gave a slow nod before looking to the others. Malik gave a nod before looking at Guilmon. The digimon looked towards Malik through the screen and knew what his tamer wanted, handing Viximon to Gazimon before rushing into the fray as well. Another Pepper Breath struck the fiery digimon but the problem now was that the fire wasn't working as intended. Instead, it looked as if it made the other digimon grow. "Pyro Sphere!" A launch of another fireball, this one red in color, struck Meramon's face and it roared in pain, stumbling back as it held, leaving Agumon to rush in and gave a mighty swipe of his claws towards the champion's chest.

The wild digimon stumbled back, colliding with the rock wall hard and Gabumon looked up, launching another Blue Blaster to chip away the rock before it fell on top of the Meramon. Panting heavily, Gabumon looked back to the others with a smile crossing his face under the pelt, Jounouchi grinning as he clapped Malik's shoulder. "Man that was some intense shit but we got'em!" he cheered. Ruby watched the transitioned screen shift to finally see the group there, Veemon panting himself as he looked at the digimon gathered before him before his face shifted to horror. While they were having their small fanfare, Veemon saw the rock pile shifting and knew that he couldn't keep quiet much longer. It was time to reveal the purpose just like the others. "YOU GOTTA MOVE!" The cry echoed through the room and the group jumped before Jounouchi turned to finally see Ruby in the corner.

"Isn't that...Jewelstone?!" Ruby looked to them before nodding down to the screen which grabbed their attention back to their own monitors, hearing the sound of shifting rubble before Meramon burst from the pile with a roar. "Oh no!" Viximon cried as Meramon began to slowly march towards them. The six of them looked at each other while sparing a glance back to Ruby whose fingers were flying over the keys as he had debug mode loaded. "Ruby-san, I know what you're attempting but this is outside of your power for now. Let me fight for you all instead." Veemon spoke as he stepped forward. "Time to put my careful training to use." Ruby sighed, looking to the monitor but specifically Veemon himself.

So this is what Yami had made to warm him about. Digimon speaking outside their code, things happening in the game itself that weren't coded to happen. While Meramon was a scripted boss for this specific area, his scripted actions were beyond what was planned for the game. The male clenched his teeth in anger at what could possibly be causing this and the matter of how he was to break it to Kaiba. The brunet expected no flaws in the game and to have this happen was something that could very well break the gaming market for further development. Another roar woke him from his stupor and another growl left him. "Veemon, time to digivolve!" The call rallied the digimon into place before the others before Ruby went to hit the glowing button on his screen. Text flowed across the screen as a blinding light surrounded Veemon. Meramon stepped back as well, covering its eyes with an arm but that didn't stop it from trying to throw another fireball at the digivolving creature.

"Look out!" Diamond cried, thinking that Veemon would suffer if the attack connected mid-transformation. But to their surprise, as the fireball was aimed right for the other, a large claw reached out, grasping the ball in hand before crushing it. The flames dispersed as the light faded, a growl leaving the new champion digimon as he stomped forward. The rookies stepped back as they looked to the large digimon that stood before them, bulky body keeping Meramon from selecting them as a target. "You won't be so high and mighty for long." Meramon sneered before raising a hand. The molten river shifted and boiled before magma rocks rose from the river. The newly digivolved Veedramon snarled as he stepped forward. "Try me." Energy gathered within his jaws before he unleashed the blast at Meramon, the blast itself shaped like a V, and connected with the wild digimon. Sending it back into the wall, the fiery rocks dropped to the ground before Veedramon charged forward, Meramon trying to rise from the rubble only to be shoved further into the wall by Veedramon's large horn.

"Go, go!" Guilmon called as more of the wall crumbled, Veedramon stepping back once more before finally swinging with a fist. "Magnum Punch!" With a final gasp, Meramon fell and when it did, the grinding sound was heard among them all. "What...is that sound?" Topaz questioned before a dark shape burst from the back of Meramon, colliding into the already destroyed wall and grounded to a halt. All eyes looked to the item, seeing it was a black gear. The energy alone was a suppressive aura to them and with a hard growl, another V-Nova Blast hit the gear, destroying it so that no harm would come to another wild digimon. With a light exhale, Veedramon turned to the group and nodded. "Guess it goes without saying you all are digimon to the destined..." he murmured before his eyes raised towards the monitor where Ruby was watching. "And you have many questions for me, I know." Ruby gave a nod before sending a message to Veedramon that such a chat would have to wait til later, moving to stand.

"But for the moment I have questions for the lot of you instead." Stepping from his computer to walk over to them, Ruby looked down to the six that sat there. The inquisitive eye looking at them curiously was enough to bring up the question without asking and Yugi was the first to speak. He told Ruby everything, of what he learned from Gabumon, of what the other digimon that were confirmed destined had told them as well. It was strange and Ruby wouldn't have believed it but with eyewitness testimonies not just from one beta player in Yami but his very own classmates, he had no other option but to believe.

He ran a hand over his head in hard contemplation. "And none of you or your digimon know who is behind this? Just that you know the world itself is in danger and could legitimately spread out into the real world." Yugi nodded to Ruby's inquiry. "I know it's hard to believe..." Yugi began, getting a firm 'damn right' from Jounouchi beside him. "But we believe it. You and Kaiba make solid games with no errors and even you wouldn't go as far as to throw in such loopholes like this. You didn't even know about that black gear that came out of the wild digimon. If you didn't know that then we know this is all true and real." Ruby gave a sigh and nodded.

"I still don't know how I'm going to break it to Kaiba. Rather, do I really want to break it to him..." Jounouchi snickered as he sat back. "I rather he be left in the dark. Better for us ta not worry 'bout his rantin' behind if we are going into all this jazz we got ta talkin' 'bout." A slight quirk of his lips showed a bit of Ruby's humor to the idea before he crossed his arms, lowering his head to glance towards Yugi's screen. Gabumon continued to watch it, sensing that he was being looked at before Ruby reached over to type in a message to the digimon. "Do you have any idea when we are to be summoned to the digital realm?"

"When all destined are gathered together. I'm sure we can forgive if one of you doesn't make it but once you all are together, the path to the world will open." Ruby nodded, resting his hands on the table before him. "Then we will prepare ourselves." he said before looking at the others. "I have no problems with getting your IDs so I will friend each of you to keep on top of this. If you come across anything new, you tell me immediately." They nodded quickly before Ruby pulled himself back to the computer desk. "I truly don't know why or how our code evolved to this point and even further how only a select few of us are considered the destined among thousands of players but the sooner we handle it, the safer the server as a whole will be." Yugi nodded in agreement. Slowly they were coming together even with no exact number of destined chosen but he hoped that whoever was missing would arrive soon. He'd feared if they waited too long and worse things than what they witnessed in the molten caves of the Drill Tunnel. If wild digimon are being corrupted with a strange item they had no knowledge of, Ruby could only hope that no one without digimon aware of the situation ran into them.

After more chatter between the digimon, the group plus Ruby broke off to bring their digimon back to their devices and head home. As Ruby sat in his room that night, he had a headset switched on to speak free-handed to Veemon as he returned back to Gear Savannah. "So then...how did you learn all of this. Tell me everything you know, Veemon." Veemon nodded, taking a seat at the water's edge. "We started as basic code. The code you created that formed our world. The world we call File Island. The land itself seems small but in here, it is quite vast than the predetermined zones you created. As the internet evolves and changes, so do we and as such, believe that the beginning stages are why things have gone to such a point. Someone within your player base has contracted something evil and is the reason that holes in your firewalls are being breached." Veemon explained and Ruby rapped his fingers on the desk, claws clacking on the smooth metal surface. As Veemon told Ruby more, neither were unaware of the figure that stood within the shadows of the doorway, icy blues narrowed as he listened to the conversation within.

If the other didn't already know that Ruby was logged in, he would've questioned who he spoke with. The male wasn't as social with others outside the family as he put his personal time into his work. To hear he was speaking to his digimon and that very same digimon was speaking back to him. Even if he was busy with the company, things about the digital realm were not left unseen. Ruby wouldn't sneak such edits under his nose so it went without saying what exactly brought this on. Then the mention of destined floated past the brunet's ears. The destined? A selected few to handle the situation in his own game?! Blasphemy!

It was asinine and Ruby was clearly a fool for believing such a thing but even worse, he wanted to believe in a bug invading the system over discussing it with him. His own sibling. A silent growl left Kaiba as he listened in long enough until Ruby finally ended the conversation, thanking Veemon for all he told him before getting up to let the game run and Veemon train without him. The other headed off to get a shower and once the door to the bathroom closed did Kaiba step into the room himself and moved to the desktop.

Taking a seat at the desk, the brunet took the headset and settled it over his head. "You, I want to know everything you told Ruby..."


	6. Chapter 6

Net Savers

Chapter 6

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It was another week before anything of great interest happened. But before that event, there was another, another that had changed the hierarchy of the student body at one Domino High.

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Early morning was the hour as the aircraft landed at Domino Airport. A scarlet gaze looked out to the bright city lights before the body turned to the other that rested beside him. "Aqua, wake up. We're here." A yawn left the other before crimson eyes opened slowly. "In Japan already? Felt like almost nothing." he murmured as he lifted himself from his seat once all the lights indicated they were free to disembark the place. The crowd onboard was rather light for the flight, allowing the two to get off easy and fetch their luggage. Upon stepping outside, they saw the red locks of the one that would be housing the two for the semester. "Good to see you again, Ruby. how long has it been now?" Yami questioned, giving a short hug to the other. "Long enough. Last year's duel monsters championship if I recall correctly." Ruby replied with a mild chuckle.

"Ah yes. That's the one. Seto was ever so angry when Yami took the trophy home." Yami gave a short laugh of his own to that as they headed off to the limo that awaited them. The rivalry between the eldest Kaiba and Yami was always a sight to see. Their duels were legendary and many would pay top dollar to see them in action. Yami was notorious for always coming out victorious but Kaiba wasn't without the gusto to continue implementing new strategies to overcome the other's impeccable prowess. As they got comfortable in the plush seating of the vehicle, Yami asked all the two needed to know about their upcoming school life and Ruby replied in kind, knowing well enough the two will adjust rather easily. The next day would be where Ruby would speak to Yami about what he learned through Veemon. He didn't know when the time to enter the digital world would be known but Ruby truly hoped that the time would come soon.

When they arrived at the mansion, Mokuba slipped away from an early bedtime to stay awake long enough to see the two, greeting them quickly before he was ushered off to bed. Ruby led them over to their rooms, directing them to where his room was if they needed anything and Yami nodded. Patting the other's shoulder, he told Ruby to get some rest as he went to head into his room, followed by Aqua heading into his own across from him. Ruby smiled before he headed to his quarters, yawning a little as he went to get ready for bed.

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Yugi felt like something big was going to happen. Not to the extent of what he knew will occur but something different. He hummed as he buttoned up the white collared shirt and grabbed his uniform jacket before making his way downstairs and into the kitchen. His meal of fluffy rolled omelets with rice and miso sat there waiting for him while his grandfather was taking care of the dishes. "Ready for another day at school, my boy?" Sugoroku asked. "Mhm. I'm excited to play Digimon a bit with everyone after school again. Kaiser is able to join us so I'm glad he and Betamon cam tag along." The elder chuckled warmly, happy the smaller boy was having so much fun with the new game. While duel monsters was falling stagnant with age, Digimon World and its servers were a nice change of pace even if he knew little of how the game works himself. He just provided the merchandise for the little kids that were happily enjoying the game. Yugi ate his meal with a happy hum, his bento set on the table beside him so he wouldn't forget about it and was ready to go in minutes. Slipping on his shoes and grabbing his bag to sling over his shoulder, Yugi turned to the counter where his grandfather stood and waved goodbye to him before he was off for school.

Sugoroku did the same before the boy was out of sight and making his way towards the school. A light hum left him as he continued along his way, meeting with Ryou and Diamond along the way. Diamond told the boy proudly that Viximon evolved into Renamon the night before after some grueling hours in Misty Trees and Yugi clapped happily to her success. "She will help so much for our future travels. We should meet up in Misty Trees ourselves cause I haven't reached there yet to get it as a map marker." Diamond nodded, telling him she would help guide him there after school. The rest of their small group was met at the crossroads and their light chatter continue all the way to the front gate where they were halted by a stupidly large crowd. "Oi, what the hell goin' on here...did Kaiba do somethin' 'gain..." Jounouchi muttered as he tried to look over the others' heads to see what all the commotion's about. "See anything, Jounouchi?" Yugi asked but the blonde shook his head. "Nada." Yugi tapped his chin before asking for a boost and Kaiser delivered, bringing the smaller boy onto his shoulders so he could see above the other students. Taking a look around, Yugi would've nearly fallen if he didn't cling to Kaiser's head as he saw the source of the cluster.

There, by the gate's entrance, were two of the biggest names in gaming history. Atemu "Yami" Moriaran, known as one of the greatest duelists for his age, having won plenty of competitions over the world and iconic for being known as a rival to Seto Kaiba as the brunet in question has yet to find the strategy to overcome the other's tactful plays. Beside him was Nenrion "Aqua" Shiras, board game extraordinaire and known sibling to Yami. An expert in every tabletop game made him an excellent strategist and DM to the well-known game of Monster World, utilizing one of the most unique ending bosses of his handcrafted castle dungeons. "I-it's...ah...it's..." Yugi began to stutter and Kaiser glanced up to him. "What's up, Yugi?! What's going on?!" Kaiser inquired in worry. "Of course you sorry lot wouldn't know whose arrival was today, did you?" A voice sounded from behind, making the group flinch before turning to see the ever present Anzu Mazaki there, arms crossed as ocean blue hues glanced to them with a winning smirk upon her face.

"Yea, an' why should we care?" Jounouchi demanded. "Because~ The exchange students that are taking your ditzy friend Honda's place are here and they are an immediate celebrity for this school. The dueling legend Atemu "Yami" Moriaran and tabletop expert Nenrion "Aqua" Shiras." she said almost proudly that she once again, knew something before the group. "Really? They're the exchange students for Hiroto?! Both of them!?" Ryou gasped, stunned to hear about Aqua coming to their simple little high school. But the truly surprised was in one Motou Yugi. For years he had admired the two and their prowess through the gaming world. Competitions, exhibitions, tourneys, you name it and Yugi's young heart was sold in watching. One could even dare to say he had a bit of a crush on the two. But alas, being worldwide champions in a variety of games and usually travelling to keep that very title made it nigh impossible to even think of pursuing such ambitious thinking. Until now. However they boy knew well enough that he wasn't alone in such admiration and if there was one he could say share the same thoughts but clearly not in the same manner would be the girl before them.

Kaiser huffed as he brought Yugi back onto his feet, telling off Anzu that she wasn't so special in knowing everything. A curl of the lip and she was quick to stomp off and Diamond rolled her eyes. "I don't know what she gets out of acting so smart. Perhaps putting that energy to something better like her poor cheerleading routine would be better." she huffed as the first bell rang and to the disappointment of many, Yami and Aqua went to head into the building to get their schedules settled. When the students entered the building, the group followed to get to homeroom. As they entered and headed to their seats, Jounouchi and Malik sticking around Yugi's desk, Ruby stepped over to them. "Have you learned anything new from your digimon recently?" he questioned softly. Yugi looked up to the other before shaking his head that Gabumon had nothing else to mention nor did he see any other digimon acting odd since the Meramon incident. Ruby gave a nod as he continued to chat with the two, even as Kaiba stepped into the room. The brunet glanced over to the table and his eyes narrowed a bit as he crossed Yugi's desk, making Ruby glance up.

A mutual gaze between the two was all the redhead needed before he stood. "Perhaps we can do a quick rundown of what we know at lunch. The more I know, the better I can assess what is going on and perhaps find out where the source of these effects are coming from." Yugi nodded and would've responded if the second bell didn't ring when it did and Ruby left to head to his desk with Jounouchi and Malik not far behind him. As homeroom started with the traditional greeting and bow to the homeroom teacher, the teacher began the roll call. After Yugi answered to his name being called, he hummed as he rested his head on his propped hand as he waited to see what lesson they would go over today. But as his mind began to wander, he missed out on the teacher mentioning of the two new students to be entering the class. The squeal of the obvious made him glance up and his whole body froze with shock.

"Please welcome Atemu Moriaran and Nenrion Shiras. Our exchange students from Egypt."

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The rest of the class was filled with his erratic heartbeat pounding in his ribcage. He was hardly able to keep himself in check and nearly lacked attention in English but was able to read through his lesson book properly when called on. By the time lunch rolled around, Yugi was quick to leave the room, much to Yami's curious gaze. "Yugi! Yugi wait up!" Diamond called as she and Ryou came running after him and once they rounded the corner, they saw the smaller boy hunched on the ground. "Cripes that was embarrassing..." he mumbled as the white-haired boy knelt down beside him. "Is everything alright?" Getting a shake of the head as a negative, the two looked at each other before nodding, Diamond ushering the boy up to the roof where they normally sat for lunch while Ryou went to grab Yugi's things from the classroom. When he entered, he saw Yami chatting with Ruby and tilted his head curiously but didn't bother to make his presence known to the two. Ruby spotted him however and waved for him to come over.

"Ryou, was it? Sorry to be a bother but would you mind if I brought these two along for our little meeting? Luckily Kaiba was called in to handle some work business so he won't be a problem as we discuss a couple things." Ryou fiddled with the napkin that held Yugi's bento as he glanced at Yami who watched him. He wasn't too good with confrontation and he worried that bringing the two new guys up with them would throw Yugi's head in for a tizzy. Ryou was about to give his response when the door slid open and they turned to see Anzu there. "Ah, there you are! Moriaran-san, please, allow me to introduce myself~" she greeted while giving a mild glare to Ryou who sighed. "This is likely to take the whole lunch break...we know her behavior well enough. But if they somehow free themselves from her clutches, you're welcomed to bring them up." Ryou whispered before he left as Anzu sauntered over to Yami who gave a slight sneer. He was no stranger to behavior like hers and he'd be damned if he got stuck with her. After what Ruby told him, he and Aqua had more important matters to attend to during the period.

Not to forget that Yami was curious of the small boy that strangely resembled him. As Ryou left and Yami was dragged off to Anzu's tour of the school, Ruby collected his things before heading off to meet with the others on the roof but not without getting a message to Aqua. It was clear to get a hold of him as he was the only other free bodied destined to come meet the rest without being dragged away by fans. He almost forgot how it felt to be the most popular news of the school when he and Seto first arrived.

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Diamond patted Yugi's shoulder once she had gotten an explanation of the boy's hasty retreat and behavior since leaving the class for their break. She found the boy's embarrassment rather cute but could see where the problem lay. Ryou was much the same as he admired Aqua's campaigns and skill with DM work. Surely not to the extent of Yugi's admiration for both but she was sure her sibling would ask for a good tip or two to enhance his games for the group. "It will be ok, Yugi. I'm sure out of the entire student body idolizing them, you would be a breath of fresh air from the clutter of fanatics." Diamond reassured. Yugi didn't make a move for a moment before finally looking up. "...You do make a good point...after all, I'm nothing like Mazaki." Diamond chuckled a little at the comment, knowing well enough that the brunette would waste no time to make her claim with the new students. The door opening signaled Topaz and Malik coming up with their lunches, Jounouchi and Kaiser following not long after and Ryou bringing up the rear with Yugi's things. Yugi thanked him profusely for the gesture and Ryou smiled. "It was nothing. Ruby said he'll be up soon for the discussion...though he said he may bring someone with him." Ryou murmured as he took a seat beside the fair blonde.

"What you mean "someone"? It's not one of those new kids, is it?" Malik huffed. "As if that dice kid wasn't bad enough when he was enrolled. Man, that was something." Kaiser said and Jounouchi snorted. Oh, Otogi Ryuji was one to remember alright. Another rich kid that flaunted good looks and money and while he was a swinger with the girls when he arrived, he had often set his eyes on Jounouchi. Jounouchi can admit to a few things and while Otogi was a looker, the pompous 'tude was nearly similar to Kaiba's and if he already had a problem with one rich boy, he didn't want to take chances with another. They pulled out their meals and started to eat, Kaiser and Topaz bringing their digivices out to tend to their digimon so they had missed the door opening again and footsteps coming towards the group. "We're here." A voice called and Yugi went to look, ready to greet Ruby but the greeting got stuck in his throat. There, behind the redhead, was Aqua who gazed down to the group with a passive gaze. "As I'm sure you can guess just by looking at him, he is a close friend of mine and also one of the destined along with his sibling. Yami was the first to have told me about his digimon acting independently but as someone that valued no errors in their programming, I didn't think to believe him at first until the moment I met you guys with Meramon." Ruby spoke as he waved Aqua forward and he moved to step forward.

"From what Ruby told me, you all have knowledge of what's been happening in the digital world as of now?" he questioned and they nodded while Yugi stayed ever so quiet. "Now I feel that if we're all here in one place, I have met some of you before so I will introduce my partner digimon, Strabimon." Aqua moved to pull out his D3 and upon hearing the name, Topaz gasped. "Strabimon!? He was the one that helped us before with that Kuwagumon! That was you?!" Aqua nodded, apologizing for the radio silence since that time as he and Yami were focused with finding more information that was leading up to this phenomenon that they were about to get themselves into. All the while as Aqua spoke, Ruby chipping in with his own inquiries, Yugi was a still little ball of nerves. He wanted to chip in with what happened as well but couldn't think to speak up with Aqua there. This was a moment of his teenage life he didn't expect to ever have with their popularity. Not only were his two idols at the same school as him but one was there. In his presence. The violet-eyed teen wanted nothing more than to be proper and introduce himself to the other but he felt the moment he opened his mouth, he'd embarrass himself. After some time, Ruby decided to use the computer lab for their use again to spread out and find anything unfamiliar in the realm and Ryou glanced to Yugi.

"Yugi, does that sound good?" At the question, Yugi jumped before looking at everyone that gazed at him curiously. "O-oh...yes, that's fine." Diamond giggled a bit while Aqua nodded. "Alright, then after classes today, we'll meet at the computer lab." Yugi let out a breath, shoving a rolled omelet into his mouth to cover the clear embarrassment flushing his cheeks and Diamond rested a hand on his shoulder. "It's ok, Yugi. Don't think so hard about it. Just...talk." she whispered. Yugi glanced at her before swallowing the bite of food in his mouth thickly and looked to Aqua who was eating some sweet and sour chicken. "U-um...Shiras-san..." At the timid voice, Aqua turned his gaze to Yugi before smiling. "Yes, little one?" Yugi swallowed again before he greeted the other on behalf of his friends, introducing each of them as he noted they haven't gotten the chance to as they went immediately into discussion upon their arrival. Aqua nodded, greeting them as well in return and felt rather pleased at the warm welcome. Much better than the others that did nothing but crowd them to ask about their previous gaming endeavors.

It was nice to just have a simple talk and make friends among a few even with their importance later on. The break went on with no other incidents of anyone finding them on the roof, the bell ringing for their next class and they cleaned up. Before Yugi went to stand, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder and turned to look quickly toward Aqua. "I would like to graciously request that if you aren't busy this weekend...would you be willing to show me and Yami around the city? We want to familiarize ourselves with the area and make a note of points of interest." Yugi inhaled sharply before seeing Jounouchi and Topaz gave him a thumbs up to take the offer quickly before he gave a shaky nod. "S-sure. I'll give you my address so you can meet me there." Aqua nodded before moving from the other to head back down with Ruby and once the two were gone, Ryou clapped happily. "You are so lucky, Yugi! This will be a wonderful little outing for you!" Yugi ran a hand through tri-colored locks, showing his worry on the idea of it as he knew well enough if a certain someone found out, she would spare no expense to ruin it for him. The others reassured him that everything would be fine and he had no reason to stress himself, even promising to come over the day before to perk him up before it. Yugi smiled at them and nodded, appreciating the thought before they left the rooftop. With the other two, Aqua hummed.

"That boy...Yugi, he was rather timid, don't you think?" Ruby chuckled. "I'm sure like the others here, he admires you but not to the extent of others. Surely his admiration is honest, maybe even affectionate if one could read the air." Aqua tapped his chin at the thought. The boy was no doubt very precious. A sweetheart that clearly had to warm up to himself and Yami if the admiration was the case of his shy demeanor. To pursue a bit of romance during the semester while dealing with the problem in the digital world? A stretch and like a complicated task...but they wouldn't be the best gaming prodigies in the world if they were faulted by a "complicated task". _'I will tell Yami about him and our little outing. Perhaps prepare something nice as a welcoming gift to the boy. This thought...I want to pursue it now.'_

0

As the bell rang, Yami couldn't be more relieved. The girl was tiresome as she wanted to point out every single thing from the courtyard to the gym changing rooms. It was a long trek filled with boredom and it didn't help that her obvious flirtation was grating to his nerves. It wouldn't surprise him if he could even find the calmest fan within the school. "At this rate, I'll take back what I said about homeschool." Yami murmured before spotting Aqua with Ruby. "So that's where you escaped to." The other huffed as he stepped over to the two. Asking if he missed anything important, Ruby told him of the gathering after classes were done with the other destined that were in the same school. Yami nodded as Ruby headed into the classroom. The other was about to join him when he felt a tug on his uniform. Looking to Aqua in question, Yami saw the smile on his sibling's face. A glance to him was the silent inquiry from him and Aqua told him of Yugi, the young teen that took upon him a request to explore the city. "He isn't like the others, is he?"

"Oh heavens no. In fact, he is quite a darling that I hope we get to know a little better with this outing we have going." Aqua spoke, seeing the group walking down the hall towards the classroom. Nudging his sibling, Aqua made to point out the boy and once scarlet hues landed on soft violet, the teen knew this semester had just got a little more exciting.


	7. Chapter 7

Net Savers

Chapter 7

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Yugi's heart was filled with butterflies for the rest of the class, retaining enough sense of self to pay attention to the lesson at hand, especially when he was called on. Aside from that, he couldn't stop thinking about the coming weekend. He, little Motou Yugi, would be showing his favored idols around town. He would pinch himself to see if he was dreaming but the yell of the sensei to wake up Jounouchi from another patented midday nap was enough to convince him this was no fever dream. It didn't help his case during literature, Yami showed exceptional proficiency in Japanese with a voice made to be anywhere but the classroom. When the last bell rang for the day, everyone began to file out and Ruby stepped to Yugi's desk. "When you're ready, you can meet us in the computer lab. I promise they are rather kind once you get to know them." Ruby spoke with a small wink and Yugi flushed from the quick gesture. The boy was becoming so obvious that others were starting to catch on. But, Yugi surmised, as long as Anzu didn't find out...

And speak of the devil. "She at it again..." Topaz mused as Anzu moved to Aqua's desk, highly disappointed when the other was nowhere to be found during the lunch period for her tour of the school. Aqua sighed as he told her as passively as he could muster that he would conduct his own tour in his free time but had another engagement to get to. "Oh! Is it a campaign?! I would love to learn how to play Monster World with you! It would allow me to show some expert skills to our resident DM." Aqua could hear the bitterness in her tone but that made him quite curious. Another DM for Monster World here in the school? Now there was someone he could relate to. Perhaps in the free time they had before their inevitable travels. But until then...

"No, not Monster World but a private engagement for Digimon World. I have some things to discuss with a personal group." he rebuffed which made the brunette girl frown, thwarted in her attempts to get closer to the other. "Ah, it must be important business then~ Don't worry! Perhaps next time!" Aqua hardly made a sound to agree or disagree, instead gathering his things to leave as quickly as he could from the excessive woman. Yugi couldn't blame him one but. The glamour of fame must be a taxing and eternal struggle when in a public setting like a public school. "Well we better get movin' too. Don't wanna leave 'em waitin'." Jounouchi hummed as he stood from his desk with the others.

As Yugi put the last notebook into his bag, the slap of a hand on his desk made him jump. Anzu's cold stare met his own with a frigid glare. "I saw you making goo goo eyes at them. I don't want to catch you even breathing in their direction or you'll be sorry." she spat venomously. And there it was, the unspoken challenge to the boys' affection. Yugi knew well of her every waking moment to spend glued at their hip and it was going to be a frustrating course of events. She would have her day for now as the semester goes along but the moment they were gone to combat their destiny things would certainly change. That alone was something he had no control over unless he chickened out to any and all advances if encouraged by his friends. "Yes, yes. I'm not here to step on any toes, just to play my game which you're making me late for. My friends are waiting..." Yugi spoke smoothly, stepping from his desk and left the classroom with Topaz. As they left, Anzu started to grow suspicious. Knowing well of the ragtag group's after school use of the computer lab to play on the server. But today, it was a different course of events.

Since Yami and Aqua's arrival, the two had stuck close to Ruby. Obviously the likely thought would be the Kaiba household was their residence during their stay thanks to the ties they had with the brunet. She wouldn't put it past them as the game enthusiasts they are to play Digimon World like many others around town, herself included. They would likely be playing right now, perhaps even be beta testers to check for bugs and any other problems in the coding. That leads into her second problem. If the three were playing now, in the computer lab, they would encounter them. The little group of nobodies. Which meant Yugi's weak charm would be exposed to Yami and Aqua.

...Which meant he would be a leg up in befriending the two, the little whelp! Acid bubbled in her stomach at the thought. She wouldn't allow such a thing to happen. Not on her watch. Gathering her remaining items to shove into her bag, Anzu was out the room in a flurry of brown locks on the way to the computer lab. At the lab itself, Ruby had entered to see it was rather lively already. Yugi or others missing from his little group weren't there yet but those that were there were getting themselves acquainted well to the prodigal players. Ryou, just a tad starry-eyed, asked Aqua a few non-invasive questions about a good campaign path for Monster World, Malik often interjecting with tales of pain and suffering of the last couple campaigns he did to help the boy. Aqua, a small light of mirth in his eyes to Malik's plight, offered advice to the white-haired teen. Indeed an animated one that Ruby never noticed before out of Ryou normally. _'Guess I shouldn't be all too surprised when Monster World is talked about.'_

Jounouchi and Diamond were already parked at their stations while Kaiser was doing a quick feeding for Betamon before he connected to the server. Ruby kept an eye on Kaiser in particular. He knew well of the other's presence and his relations to Jounouchi but he was usually never seen after school most days. That is the say never seen if Ruby himself wasn't the same with work. The redhead would hear stories about the two, both scrounging up funds from different smaller jobs for something. No one that wasn't among the group they were close to knew what or but speculations often ran rampant. Most never good in retrospect. Ruby did find himself the curious sort to such a plight but knew just as much that being invasive to the silky blonde's personal life would get him no answers at that time. "Perhaps in the future then." he hummed to himself before moving to a computer of his own. To the side Yami stood, watching the door. Only two remained missing for the count of friends he remembered when first entering the classroom and not seeing the one to clearly resemble him not among the others meant he was the last to arrive.

Scarlet hues held questions, inquiries, curiosities of the boy but he held his tongue for the moment. There was plenty of time to get acquainted with him just like the other here. They were a close-knit bunch that was certain. Not to forget that others share some interesting circumstances just like he. If the four troublemakers that he had in mind knew of such, the innocent would be eaten up. _'Hope they aren't destined like ourselves. That would be such a headache to keep in line without causing hell. Especially with Marik and Toben thrown into that mix.'_

In the hall, Yugi and Topaz chatted happily of the adventure they were about to embark on, wondering about what awaited them now with the extra support. Far enough but within her sights, Anzu stormed her way behind them. She won't allow it, couldn't allow it. She will **NOT **let little Motou Yugi one up her with a welcoming impression! The two entered the room upon arrival and when the door slid shut, Ruby locked it with ease. If he didn't know any better, he would never suspect an annoying pest to interrupt their investigation and cause a scene for them while doing so. After all, they were the destined, they want to keep that as low brow as they possibly can. "Everyone accounted for?" Ruby announced as he looked to everyone in the computer lab. A chorus of affirmation answered the redhead and he nodded. "So before we begin, do you all have knowledge of what's happening in the server?" They all nodded aside from Kaiser who looked through the group in confusion. "Wait, something's wrong with the server?" Kaiser questioned as he looked to the others. Diamond slapped a hand to her forehead as she sent a glare Jounouchi's way. "You haven't told him!?" Jounouchi waved his hands as he fished for an excuse while Ruby chuckled a bit. Taking a step over to Kaiser, he rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Well to fill you in on what has been happening, Aurum was it?" Kaiser nodded, a faint dusting of red crossing the bridge of his nose as Ruby began to debrief on what they knew so far. Kaiser listened carefully as all was explained to him, noting the key factor of their digimon's strange behavior that led them to knowing of the chosen tamers. Looking at his digivice, he wondered if Betamon was the same as the others. The silky blonde never saw or heard anything strange in his dialogue since getting into the game yet all of his friends knew about this before him. Was he the only one out of the loop? Unable to join them in such a venture if his digimon didn't respond in kind to the coming dangers? Maybe so and that felt devastating to him. Everyone had this important quest to save not only one but two realities in a way that sounded like something from one of his favorite video games encapsulated by strange science or magic. Both Ruby and Kaiba unintentionally cracked the code to make this happen and he was missing out if his digimon didn't know about it!

As Ruby continued, Aqua saw the expression on Kaiser's face and hummed thoughtfully. When the redhead finished, he took a step from Kaiser to look to the red of the room. "Any questions?" Kaiser looked down silently. "What if...you're not one of the destined? What should we do in that case?" Kaiser inquired softly. Knowing where this was coming from, Ruby gave a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I have a good feeling about you. If your friends are destined for this journey, it would be a complete shame if you don't join them. But if by some stroke of misfortune you are unable to, we put our absence in your hands to keep others from speculating our disappearance. A very important job that would be rewarded in kind once we return but only if that case scenario is a reality."

Kaiser pondered over the thought while Yugi giggled from his spot. Kaiser didn't realize it on his own but Yugi could see it. Ruby was flirting, actually flirting! To most, anyone of the Kaiba household was always considered cold like the machinery they work with. They would never show anything beyond anger or displeasure to lower class but usually such is tagged more to the elder Kaiba than the middle Jewelstone. Ruby always appeared as a different case in terms of emotion. His face would vary in expression rarely and most know a sudden shift meant that you had beyond irritated him. But the tolerance of annoyances was a high bar to hit so that level is just as rare as seeing a genuine smile on Kaiba's face. As for the sight Yugi saw now, there was definitely something new not just with Ruby's expression but behavior. When the other finally received a nod that Kaiser would do his very best to keep their journey a secret, Ruby nodded before moving to a station of his own, just barely touching the seat when the rattle of the door behind him made them all turn. Muffled shouts came from the outside and Yugi winced, knowing full well who was likely on the other side of the door.

The thought was shared by Yami who would've groaned visibly but kept the distressed sound to himself. The brunette girl would be a hassle and a half to avoid but as long as he could spend very little time in her presence, he can focus more on the presence he'd rather know a little better. Ruby motioned for them to wait a moment as he brought out his cell, sending a text to an unknown number before waiting. The room was visibly silent aside from the sound outside before it was abruptly muted and Malik shivered. "Remind me to never get on your bad side..." he muttered while Ruby chuckled. "It was just a hall monitor, no need to worry." Even when told not to, the idea of a hall monitor at your location at the press of a button from him was still a harrowing thought to the flaxen blonde as he followed suit in getting set it, each logging into the server and got their digivices hooked up to transport their digimon to the server.

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Tsukaimon yawned slightly as he sat perched in a tree in Native Forest. His tamer wanted him to try fishing again as the Seadramon he was in search of before it got its ass handed to it by the paltry little group of digimon he met before. That group still ruffled his ego as he thought back to them. If Crimson was actually around instead of taking a damn extended bathroom break (the excuse the teen gave upon the destined quad he had been following logged off) then it wouldn't have been a problem and wouldn't have been shown up by some newbie. "Ugh...damn it." he grumbled as he pumped his tiny wings and left his perch to head off to a new zone.

The tamer in question, Crimson, watched the screen and snickered. Tsukaimon was a feisty one but also knew the digimon's behavior was something different than what it once was the first couple days he started the game at Ruby's behest (since Kaiba "asking" before was more of a demand to get beta testers. He held a bit more respect and would listen to Ruby over Kaiba any day). When he came back that day, he was given a surprising earful from the tiny digimon that he nearly got owned by the Seadramon they were looking for to get to Beetle Land and was only saved thanks to a group of no names. Crimson had the thought to question how the digimon was speaking outside the dialogue he was used to before but had gotten a message from Toben a day later about his Floramon being absolutely cheesed with his headassery and teasing about something important.

That made Crimson curious and ready to prod the little digimon on it when the alert of a digimon encounter flashed on his screen with accompanying sounds and music. "Guess we'll chat about that after. Let's take on that weakling, Tsukaimon." Crimson commented with a grin as he hit the digivolve command on the screen. Back where they had left off, the group of seven consisting of Agumon, Gabumon, Veemon, Gazimon, Syakomon, Guilmon and Renamon left out the Drill Tunnel to return to Native Forest. Since Veemon had been around Gear Savannah and found nothing of great interest, they decided to head off towards the direction to see if anything would be better within the forest or canyon areas.

"So the last place Betamon left off was in Tropical Jungle as far as Kaiser told me. Did ya still wander 'round there?" Jounouchi questioned as he looked towards the silky blonde. "Hmm, last I stopped was heading towards the Ancient Dino Region. Almost had my ass handed to me by a Centarumon in Amida Forest and booked it the hell outta there." Kaiser replied. Ruby nodded as he typed the destination to Veemon who nodded. With a wave to the others, they began to head through the forest towards Coela Beach. Upon doing so, they were nearly blindsided by a flying Goburimon that was tossed into the area, indicators on its health and SP showing it was clearly in the middle of a fight.

"Holy shit, who tossed the poor thing into this zone?!" Malik nearly shouted as their "Enemy Approaching" signals went off on each monitor. Topaz questioned if they should even worry about battling as the Goburimon was already weak as it were but before a decision could be made, the roar of the other digimon echoed through the field before a roaring flame in the shape of a dragon came to hit the digimon, ending it quickly while Renamon was quick to dodge out of the way as the attack continued before fizzling out. The group looked in the direction of the attack as another stepped in. A shake of the nine tails is what met their gazes before the champion looked to them. "Veemon?" The champion near spat and Veemon perked to his name. "Must be a friend. Care to answer why you're out in this area...picking on the weak ones?" Veemon inquired with a cross of his arms. "Man, I already know where the assertive tone comes from." Came the text in the chat window and Ruby sighed. "Crimson, is that you?" Ruby typed in return as Aqua rubbed a hand over his face.

"Oh boy..." he mumbled, getting a curious glance from Yugi. Clearly the two knew him and so did Veemon when it came to matters in game. The champion grinned a bit as he stepped towards them before freezing in place. Guilmon was worriedly fretting over Renamon who tried to reassure the other that she was just fine. There was no mistaking that pelt and the sharp eyes. It was the in-training digimon he met before and she digivolved into a literal vixen, all puns intended. "Well well, if it isn't the little in-training digimon all grown up~" The champion cooed, sitting before the two and Renamon glanced to the other digimon with an errant flick of her ear. "Do I know you?" she grumbled, already annoyed with the presence of the other. The champion pardoned himself and started on his introduction while Ruby continued to speak with Crimson, asking how long he knew of the independence of his digimon. Kaiser watched the scene in slight amusement, seeing that the sentient digimon were nothing different than regular people, perhaps even similar in personality to the ones that raised and trained them. Turning to his screen as Betamon took out another Muchomon, he wondered just how he would be once he was like the others...if he was.

"As much as I love a nice and friendly passing of words, we got work to do. Our tamers here can't hog the lab overnight." Monodramon spoke as they arrived into the area with the use of an Autopilot, pressing on with Strabimon following. Crimson tsked on his end before seeing text from Yami that it would be best for him to tag along as the more help they had, the more they could investigate. "Sure, sure...but I want something in return. The name of Renamon's tamer." Diamond bristled a little as she snorted. She questioned if she really had to and Yami waved it off, telling the other that he could get a name if he helped, the other digimon following as Renamon stepped around the champion, tail slapping him in the face upon passing.

He shook his head from it but the vexed gesture was received as a welcome to try again and was quick to follow, slowly digivolving back as Tsukaimon caught up with the others. The sizable group crossed over the bridge and got into the jungle, eventually spotting the lone Betamon taking out another Muchomon before turning to see the group. "Betamon, there you are!" Agumon called cheerfully with a wave. There was silence for a moment as the group moved over to the small digimon and Kaiser bit his lip as Agumon began to speak to him. He didn't speak but he nodded to show that he understood, motioning for the others to follow as he began heading back in the direction of Amida Forest. "Looks like you're in the green, Kaiser!" Topaz cheered as the group continued on their way, reaching the Amida Forest with ease and Tsukaimon was the first to flutter ahead, puffing out his chest as he told them he'd head in first to see what awaited them. He did it as a gesture to prove his strength to Renamon who hardly gave him a second glance as he flew straight in. Ruby had little time to warn the digimon of the coded puzzle before a whistle of a projectile came flying at the digimon, making him yelp as he was thrown back to the start where they stood and a bit of health missing.

"Yikes! What just happened!?" Ryou asked in horror as he looked back to Ruby, the redhead explaining quickly of the puzzle that laid within the walls, the very same that Kaiser ran into when he was there before. Within the game, Strabimon scratched his chin before giving a nod, stepping over the fallen digimon to run through the puzzle himself. It only took one glance for Aqua to figure out how the puzzle was set to work and found the right door that would take them into the new area plus a few items along the way.

Ruby chuckled as Crimson gave a mass of expletives that would rather be called key smash in the chat window as the other easily one-upped him in skill. "I essentially already have the area registered in my game so for now, how about we agree to split up. Half take a walk through the Ancient Dino Region; the other half take a walk through the Great Canyon. The area isn't far from where we are now." Ruby offered and the others nodded, planning amongst themselves where they wanted to go. Coming to a consensus, Yugi, Diamond, Malik, Yami and Jounouchi decided to head for the Great Canyon while Kaiser, Ryou, Ruby, Topaz and Aqua headed on into the Ancient Dino Region. "Hey, what about me?! What am I, rotted sirloin?!" Tsukaimon huffed angrily as he watched the digimon get into their groups. "If I'm gonna help with anything, I'm tagging along with the vixen."

"That's my boy~" Crimson praised. Even if he didn't know what the tamer for Renamon looked like, he still believed in his heart it was a woman just as fine as the digimon she picked out. With all this "destined" stuff and the investigation going before the so-called trip into the server itself, he was bound to meet her eventually. If she's anything as he imagined, he had to prepare his best game to charm her as they clearly were not in the same region in real life, a computer screen the only thing separating the two. Diamond rolled her eyes but hardly made any sort of argument to Tsukaimon tagging with them, the digimon giving their fond farewells before splitting off, Gabumon leading his group out from the forest while Strabimon headed into the ancient zone of dinosaur digimon. As they split away from each other, a figure stood from higher ground, a peculiar digimon that was a part of the projectile that had knocked Tsukaimon clear from his flight into the area. Normally a peaceful sort that was coded to bar entry unless one knew how the path worked, the slow grind of something in the back of the digimon urged it to do much more than guard the entry point to the new area.

"I...have to destroy the destined. They shall never get to the dark lord..." Centarumon spoke almost robotically, another grind of the black gear set into his back forcing him to move, leaping from his perch. On stable ground, the champion went to follow after Strabimon's group into the Ancient Dino Region; a sight overlooked by the tamers as they played on their separate screens overseeing their digimon partners.

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Zypher: a reminder that i used to play the original Digimon World way back when and i remember how much Amida Forest in game used to annoy me. had to at least channel that frustration into Tsukaimon cause damn, recruiting Centarumon to the city was a hassle because he really does gun you down if you mess up the puzzle lol. anyways, falling a bit behind but still working to get a leg up on these bad boys. might take a small uploading break to crank out a few more chapters between this and Twilight Rising -as TR is getting close to where i stopped and that big important story chunk is slowly coming upon me- so gonna put some major focus towards that. anywho hoped ya enjoyed and i shall be back with some more~


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